


seasons of youth

by daybreakfiction



Series: today & tomorrow [2]
Category: NU'EST, Produce 101 (TV), Wanna One (Band)
Genre: Gen, M/M, baejin is a good kid, each season gets two parts btw, jaehwan is jaehwan, minhyun is too good to be true, seongwoo’s the best uncle, this fic gets lengthy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-22
Updated: 2018-01-04
Packaged: 2019-02-18 16:59:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 30,377
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13104573
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/daybreakfiction/pseuds/daybreakfiction
Summary: jinyoung's just a normal ten year old kid, living with his mother and grandparents in busan.however, jinyoung soon learns that he needs to move to seoul, in order to live with his father for one year.orjinyoung spends four seasons in seoul.and during each season, he wishes even more he could stay.





	1. prologue.

**Author's Note:**

> i have been writing this for nearly two months and though i've been on a hiatus for a while, i feel like i just need to get this fic out there before i end up changing my mind about it. it was originally going to be a oneshot, but i'm 15k words in right now and i think it's best to break it up into chapters. 
> 
> like always, this is unbetaed. 
> 
> so enjoy!

Bae Jinyoung knew that he had a very unconventional family.

His mother and father were both extremely young compared to the parents of his fellow classmates. Everyone else seemed to have parents that were in their mid to late-thirties, however Jinyoung's parents were not even thirty years old yet. 

Another strange thing Jinyoung noticed about his parents was that they didn't live together. Jinyoung lived with his mother and grandparents in Busan, but his father lived in Seoul. His father would visit about every two weeks and spend a weekend with him, however he never stayed at his mother's house. He would always be staying at a hotel that was nearby.

Jinyoung also learned at an early age that his family name belonged to his mother, and not his father like how it was traditionally thought to be. Many people became confused about that, but they never asked Jinyoung as to why his name was like. Jinyoung never questioned it at all. 

Jinyoung was quite observant about his surroundings as well. There were no pictures of his mother and father together besides their high school graduation picture. However, they weren't the only two in that picture. The picture was taken with the entire graduation class, so his mother and father weren't even next to each other in the picture. 

He also noticed that his mother and father didn't wear rings to signify that they were married, which Jinyoung definitely thought was strange, but he never questioned it as well.

He loved and trusted his parents. He knew they were only doing what was best for him.


	2. chapter one.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> autumn. part one. 

"Bae Jinyoung, get up now. Your father is coming to pick you up in an hour." 

Jinyoung rubbed his eyes sleepily as he heard his mother's voice awaken him. He stayed in bed with his eyes closed, not quite ready to wake up yet. He felt his mother give him a soft kiss on the forehead, which signaled that he needed to get out soon or else she was going to end up showering him with kisses.

Which he hated because ten-year-old boys shouldn't get too many kisses. 

"What time is he coming over?" Jinyoung asked sleepily as he rolled out of bed. His mother laughed at his cute antics before petting his head, trying to fix his hair.

"He said he would be here around 10 AM and that's an hour away. Go say good morning to grandma and grandpa before taking a shower." His mother said and Jinyoung immediately went over to his grandparents' room. He knocked on the door twice before opening it, revealing his grandparents who were still sleeping in bed.

"Grandma! Grandpa! Wake up!" Jinyoung exclaimed as he jumped onto their bed. He carefully settled himself between them, waiting for them to wake up.

"Jinyoung, you're too big to fit in this bed now." His grandfather scolded him softly, however Jinyoung knew he wasn't in any trouble. His grandfather was always a bit harsh, but that only because he loved Jinyoung. 

"Let him be, he's still our baby." His grandmother chimed in as she gently pat Jinyoung stomach. He could feel himself being lulled back to sleep, but he knew he had to get ready for his father's visit. 

"Minhyun is coming over today, isn't he?"

Jinyoung nodded his head at the sound of his father's name. Even though his family was very strange, his grandparents still seemed to like his father. Jinyoung wasn't exactly sure why though, since he was rarely around.

"Make sure your room is clean, Jinyoung. You know your father hates seeing messes." His grandmother laughed softly before patting Jinyoung again. The young ten-year-old carefully climbed back out of bed to go get ready. He waved goodbye to his grandparents before closing their door behind him.

"Mom! Mom! What can I wear today?" Jinyoung asked as he ran into his mother's room. She was busy putting on makeup, which meant she was going to work today. Jinyoung thought his mother looked pretty with makeup, almost like a doll. 

"Hmmm, I don't know where your father is planning on taking you. It's Saturday, so he must have something fun planned. Make sure you bring a sweater with you, just in case it gets cold." His mother smiled and Jinyoung quickly left the room, running back over to his room.

It was October, meaning that it was likely that it was going to be getting cold out. Both of his parents would scold him if he underdressed, so he decided to listen to his mother and bring a sweater with him.

Jinyoung quickly changed his clothes and washed his face to prepare for his day. His father typically took him to fun places where he could also learn, such as museums and art exhibits. Even though Jinyoung was just a young child, he still loved going to places like that. His mother often worried that Jinyoung wasn't enjoying himself when he spent time with his father, but he always reassured her that he was fine. 

Jinyoung knew that his father, Hwang Minhyun, was a very busy person. He was quite young, but he had was currently working his way to becoming a doctor. He had a tight schedule as a resident doctor at a well-known hospital in Seoul. His mother worked as a local news reporter that would sometimes appear on television. His parents both had good careers and he really looked up to them. He hoped he was going to be just like them when he was older.

"Bae Jinyoung! Don't forget to bring your father your report card. He still hasn't seen it." Jinyoung's mother called out. Jinyoung quickly ran over to his backpack to search for his report card. His grades were fairly average, but he did well in history due to his father's love of museums. 

An hour quickly passed and before Jinyoung knew it, his father was already at his mother's home. He had arrived while Jinyoung was getting ready and was standing in the kitchen with Jinyoung's mother. 

The two adults didn’t see Jinyoung walking into the kitchen, but they were whispering to each other so Jinyoung wasn't able to hear what they were talking about. It looked quite serious, due to the fact that Jinyoung's mother had a slight frown on her face. Jinyoung's father gently poked her cheek, forcing her to smile.

"Dad!" Jinyoung dashed forward and latched himself onto his father's legs. He was quite tall, so Jinyoung felt small compared to him.

"Baejin, did you get taller again?" Minhyun asked as he pat his son's head. 'Baejin' was Minhyun's nickname for Jinyoung and the young boy loved the nickname a lot.

"I think I grew 2 centimeters!" Jinyoung boasted as he let go of his father. 

"You're growing too fast." Jinyoung's mother pouted as she gave her son a quick hug. It was almost 10 AM, so she was going to have to go to work soon. 

"I'll just text you when I bring him home." Minhyun said as he glanced at Jinyoung's mother. The young boy watched as his mother nodded her head. He still couldn't understand what their relationship really was because of how they interacted with one another.

"Bye mom! Have a nice day at work!" Jinyoung said as he waved goodbye to his mother. 

His mother smiled at him before leaving the house, which left Minhyun and his son together. His grandparents were still in their room, probably asleep again.

"Where are we going today?" Jinyoung asked his father as they started to leave the house as well. Minhyun had taken the bus to get to Jinyoung's house, because his car was still in Seoul. He didn't mind taking public transportation when in Busan because he still remembered what it was like to live there. 

"Let's go get something to eat first. I have someone I want you to meet." 

Jinyoung nodded his head before reaching over to hold his father's hand. He loved spending time with his father and wished he was able to spend more time with him. Living so far away from him was quite difficult, but Jinyoung had no other choice. 

Spending weekends with his father were the highlight of every month.

\--

Hwang Minhyun was very familiar with Busan. He was born and raised there, but had to move to Seoul in order to attend college years ago. He was thankful his son's mother still lived in Busan because it gave him even more reason to keep visiting. 

He was thankful to his son's mother for many other reasons as well. 

His son's mother was one of his close friends during high school. They were in the same grade and they were the same age, so they had much in common. Unfortunately, they made one silly mistake during high school when they were only seventeen years old. 

However, that mistake turned into a miracle and Jinyoung was born.

Being pregnant in high school was hard for his son's mother. She was ridiculed and harassed, but Minhyun and their other friends were always around to defend her. She went into labor a month before their graduation, but she was still able to graduate on time. 

When Jinyoung was born, there was a lengthy discussion on who should be the primary custody of the child. There was extreme pressure for Minhyun and his son's mother to get married right after high school, but they were firm in their decision not to get married. There were no romantic feelings between the two of them and they remained friends instead. 

In the end, Minhyun was not granted full custody. He had gotten into a prestigious medical university in Seoul and was going to move there.  On the other hand, his son's mother was going to attend a local university in Busan and she still lived with her parents. Minhyun was also thankful to his son's grandparents because they took extremely good care of Jinyoung. Even though Minhyun messed up in high school and got their daughter pregnant, they still treated him with respect. 

Minhyun's parents had moved out of the country years before Minhyun's high school graduation. He wasn't close with them at all and rarely did they ever contact each other. They knew that they had a grandson and they sent presents for him occasionally. 

The last ten years were extremely hard for Minhyun. He struggled with school for a while before finally settling in, but at the same time he tried his best to visit Busan as often as he could to help raise Jinyoung. He used to visit every weekend, but as Jinyoung got older, Minhyun got busier. His visits slowly started to go down to just once every two weeks, which was definitely not enough. Minhyun missed many milestones in Jinyoung's life and he felt horrible about it. He was working as a resident doctor at a hospital in Seoul, which was mentally and physically draining on the young man. He only had one more year left of residency before he was going to become a doctor. 

Jinyoung meant the world to him and he was working hard to make sure he would be able to provide for the young boy. He made sure to send Jinyoung's mother money every month, just to help out as much as he could. His mother hated to spoil him, but Minhyun couldn't help himself sometimes. He felt as if he needed to make up for the fact that he couldn't be with Jinyoung all the time.

"Dad, who are we meeting for lunch?"

Jinyoung's voice suddenly broke Minhyun's train of thought and he blinked, feeling a little bit dazed and confused for a moment. He came to his senses and realized that he and Jinyoung were on the bus, heading over to a popular café for lunch. 

"Ah, we're going to meet a friend I met in Seoul. He's here in Busan to visit one of his friends, but he was interested in meeting you." Minhyun said when he looked out of the window. Luckily, they had not missed their stop, meaning they would get to the café right on time. 

"Why does he want to meet me?" Jinyoung asked as he swung his legs back and forth under his seat. He still wasn't quite tall enough to rest his feet on the floor. 

"I talk about you a lot, so he's just curious. I think you'll like him though." Minhyun smiled at his son before pinching one of his cheeks. Jinyoung whined, but let his father continue pinching him. Minhyun was quite fond of pinching Jinyoung's cheeks and the young boy never protested against it.

"Where did you meet him?" Jinyoung asked, feeling curious about his father's friend. He had never met any of his father's friends before since they all lived in Seoul, so he was excited about meeting this person today.

"I met him at work when he broke his arm and had to visit the hospital. He's probably going to tell you about the scar on his arm from when he broke it." Minhyun replied before standing up, signaling Jinyoung to do the same.  This meant that their bus stop was coming up and that they needed to get off soon. 

Jinyoung made sure to hold his father's hand as they got off the bus together. Even though he was a bit old to hold hands with his parents, Jinyoung didn't care and he still did it anyway. He loved showing affection to his parents and grandparents. 

Minhyun and Jinyoung walked for a for a few minutes before finally arriving at the café they were going to eat at. Jinyoung always ate here with his father, so he knew exactly what he wanted to get. He hoped his father was going to let him drink juice with his meal as well. 

The father and son walked into the café and Minhyun immediately started to look around, trying to spot his friend. Jinyoung had no idea what he looked like, so there was no way he was going to be able to help.

"Minhyun! I'm over here!" A voice called out. Jinyoung looked in the direction that the voice came from and saw a young man, probably around the same age as his father, waving his hand. 

Minhyun lead Jinyoung over to the table where the man was, smiling widely.

"Hey Seongwoo! Jinyoung, this is Ong Seongwoo, the friend I mentioned earlier. You can just call him Uncle, if you want." Minhyun said as he gently nudged Jinyoung forward. The young child bowed politely to the stranger in front of him before retreating behind his father again.

Ong Seongwoo was a tall man, about the same height as his father, and the first thing that came to Jinyoung mind was that the man looked very friendly. He has a smile on his face that reminded him of his teacher at school.

Seongwoo squatted down to meet Jinyoung's height before smiling, "Nice to meet you Jinyoung! Your father always talks about you whenever we hang out." 

Jinyoung shyly smiled back at Seongwoo before gripping his father's jacket. He was always a bit shy with strangers when first meeting them.

"Let's sit down and eat now." Minhyun said as he pat his son's head. 

During lunch, Jinyoung learned that Ong Seongwoo was actually an elementary teacher in Seoul. He was visiting a friend in Busan and had some free time, so he and Minhyun decided to meet up for lunch. Ong Seongwoo was a very enthusiastic person and he did everything possible in order to make Jinyoung feel more comfortable with him. It made Jinyoung curious about why Seongwoo was being so nice though.

"Have you told him yet?" Seongwoo asked as he glanced at Jinyoung. The young boy was sipping his juice as he stared back and forth between the adults at the table. 

"Not yet... I was actually going to tell him later." Minhyun said as he also glanced at his son. Jinyoung was a smart child and immediately knew something was up.

"Tell me what?" Jinyoung said softly as he started to chew on his straw. It was a habit he had ever since he was about five years old and he would only do it when he was nervous.

"Listen, Jinyoung... Your mother's a news reporter, right? She was going to tell you about this before, but she got too nervous. She's been assigned to work overseas in America for the next year and she can't bring you with her. You'll be living with me starting next month." 

-

"Mom! Mom! Mom! Mom! Mom!"

"Bae Jinyoung, if you don't stop jumping up and down on my bed, I'm going to make sure your father gives you the hardest chores while you're living with him."

"He would never do that, mom. You know how much he likes cleaning."

Jinyoung laughed when he saw his mother let out a heavy sigh. He had a very good point and he knew she was going to admit defeat. 

Three weeks had passed since his father broke the news about him moving to Seoul. Jinyoung was upset for a few days, but he quickly got over it because of the excitement he was feeling. He was definitely going to miss his mother, but she promised to video chat with him every other day when she wasn't busy. 

The only thing that worried the young boy now was making new friends and going to a completely different school. 

As it turns out, the main reason his father wanted him to meet Ong Seongwoo was because he was actually an elementary school teacher. Uncle Seongwoo was a fifth-grade teacher, which was the grade Jinyoung was still in. The teacher pulled a few strings at the school and was able to get Jinyoung into his class. 

The teacher has reassured him that his class was the  _absolute_ best and that everyone in his class was friendly. Jinyoung trusted the man and hoped for the best. He was more excited about getting to live with his father for the first time in his life. Jinyoung visited Seoul a few times, but he always stayed at a hotel with his mother instead of his father's apartment. 

He knew his father lived in an apartment near the hospital he worked at. However, it's been a few years since Jinyoung had actually been to the apartment. 

"Did you finish packing your winter clothes?" Jinyoung's mother asked as he climbed off her bed. For the last three weeks, Jinyoung and his mother have been busy packing his stuff. His father was going to borrow a van from his friend in Seoul in order to take Jinyoung's things. The young boy wasn't going to take everything he owned, but he was going to take a majority of it. He was a bit sad to leave his grandparents in Busan, but they were actually happy for him since he was going to spend more time with his father. 

"I packed them in a box and put them in the garage with my other stuff!" Jinyoung replied as he started to follow his mother around the house. She was also busy packing her things for her trip overseas. Jinyoung found out from his father that she was being assigned to work in America for an entire year.

Jinyoung wondered if she was going to develop an American accent while she was away. 

"Do you think I'll be able to make new friends in Seoul?" Jinyoung asked his mother as he tugged on the bottom of her shirt. She quickly turned around and smiled a bit sadly at her son.

"Are you still worried about that? I know it's going to be hard, but I think you will be fine. Just be yourself and you'll be able to make a lot of friends." His mother said, trying to reassure him. She kissed his forehead softly before patting his head. 

She was worried about Jinyoung, but she trusted his father enough to know that he was going to be fine. Even though they didn't have any romantic feelings for one another, they remained close friends and she knew that Minhyun was going to do his best to take care of their son. It was a good opportunity for Jinyoung to spend some time with his father as well.

"When is dad coming to pick me up?" Jinyoung asked, still following his mother around the house. She was trying to pack her necessities, but Jinyoung kept distracting her. She knew he was only doing this because he was nervous about moving.

"He's coming in two days, so I want you to make sure all of your things are ready by the time he gets here." 

The next two days quickly flew by and before Jinyoung knew it, his father was back in Busan to bring him to Seoul. He had borrowed someone’s van in order to bring Jinyoung’s stuff because his car was too small. He even brought Ong Seongwoo along to help him.

“Hey kid!” Seongwoo greeted as he entered the house with Minhyun. His father simply smiled at his son before approaching his mother.

“Is that him?” She asked as she stared at Seongwoo. Minhyun hadn’t introduced the two yet and Seongwoo was preoccupied with Jinyoung. 

“Him?” Minhyun questioned, looking back at Seongwoo as well. Jinyoung glanced at his parents, curious about what they were talking about. 

“Your boyfr-” 

Minhyun immediately covered her mouth with his hand, blushing slightly at her statement.

"N-No! That's not him. Seongwoo's not him." Minhyun kept his hand on her mouth and she glared at him for a moment, waiting for him to remove her hand.

When he didn't remove his hand, she took the initiative to lick his palm, which resulted in him letting out a yell before he wiped her saliva on her own sleeve.

"Minhyun!"

"You started it!"

Jinyoung smiled at his parents before walking over to them. He wrapped his arms around his mother's waist.

"Mom, this is Uncle Seongwoo. He's one of dad's friends and he's going to be my teacher in school!" Jinyoung introduced his father's friend and the young teacher smiled at his mother. 

"It's nice to meet you! I can see that Jinyoung takes after you." Seongwoo bowed his head politely with the smile still on his face, causing Jinyoung's mother to blush. Minhyun rolled his eyes before nudging his friend. 

"Look at what you've done, I think she just fell in love with you." 

Jinyoung's mother let out a gasp, as if she was insulted in what Minhyun had just said. Minhyun grinned at her before ruffling her hair up a bit.

"Jinyoung's things are in the garage in some boxes. I made sure he only packed his necessities, but if he needs anything else, can you buy it for him?" Jinyoung's mother said as the four started to walk towards the garage. Jinyoung felt small as he walked behind the adults, but he knew it was because they were practically overlooking him at the moment.

"Of course. I was planning on buying him some new things to keep at my apartment anyway." Minhyun replied as they entered the garage. He glanced at all of the boxes and let out a soft sigh of relief when he realized that it would all fit in the van.

"How big is your apartment anyways? Jinyoung's been living in this house all his life, I don't know if he'll be able to adjust living in a smaller space." Jinyoung's mother said as she stared back at her son, who smiled back at her.

"It's a two-bedroom apartment, so it's pretty spacious. Jinyoung will get his own room, of course. I've already stocked up the fridge with a bunch of snacks too." Minhyun said softly, thinking of his apartment. There were a few minor details he had left out, but for the sake of Jinyoung's mother, it was best to leave them out.

It took a few minutes to try to load everything into the van. Seongwoo owned his family's old van, which was thankfully big enough for all of the boxes. Jinyoung wasn't sure how they were going to drive back with all of the boxes, but he knew his father and uncle had a plan. 

"Baejin, it's time for you to say goodbye to your mother. Her flight is tomorrow morning, so make sure you wish her a safe flight." Minhyun whispered to his son. Jinyoung looked back over to his mother who was now staring at the empty space in the garage, where the boxes of Jinyoung's things used to be. She was smiling, but Jinyoung could tell it wasn't a happy smile.

"I’ll be right back, dad." Jinyoung said to his father before running over to his mother. He tackled her in a hug, almost knocking her over. She wrapped her arms around him as best as she could, still smiling.

The two stayed in their silent hug for a few minutes with Minhyun and Seongwoo staring at them. Jinyoung looked up at his mother and immediately noticed the sad look in her eyes. He frowned and hugged her even tighter.

"You'll be good while I'm away, right?" His mother said softly as she tried her best to smile happily.

"Of course. I'll show you all of my report cards and I'll send you postcards! I'll even tell you all about the new friends I'm going to make." Jinyoung said, trying to reassure his mother. She just hummed softly in reply before kneeling down before him. 

"You're going to have a fun time with your father, sweetheart. I know he's going to take good care of you." 

Jinyoung could feel tears forming in his eyes as he listened to his mother speak. He didn't let any of the tears fall because he knew that if he did, his mother was going to start crying as well. She was always sensitive about his son's emotions.

"I'm going to miss you, mom. I hope you have a nice time in America." Jinyoung smiled and hugged his mother one last time before pulling away.

Minhyun quickly approached Jinyoung's mother and gave her a quick hug, wishing her good luck while working abroad. 

"Be sure you-know-who is nice to Jinyoung." 

Minhyun just let out a soft chuckle before bidding her goodbye once more. He took Jinyoung's hand and led him back over to the van, helping him get into the backseat. Jinyoung smiled at his father and Minhyun smiled in return before kissing his son's cheek. 

"We'll be in Seoul in a couple hours, Baejin. You'll be home soon."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> let me know what you think in a comment : )  
> thank you for reading!


	3. chapter two.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> autumn. part two.

A few days later, Jinyoung had finally settled into his father's apartment. His father had painted the second bedroom a light blue color for his son and had even bought brand new furniture for him. He had a huge bed for himself and there was still room for a desk in the space he was given. 

Minhyun had debated on whether or not Jinyoung should have his own television in his room, but he decided against it because he didn't want Jinyoung getting too distracted. His closet was full of his clothes and he even had multiple sets of uniform for his new school.

Jinyoung was quite unhappy when he found out he had to wear a uniform to this new elementary school.

His father was sending him to a private school that was down the block from the apartment and the school was even walking distance from the hospital Minhyun was working at. 

Before Jinyoung knew it, it was finally time for him to attend school.

"Dad, do I have to go to school today? Can't I push it back to tomorrow? Or next week?" Jinyoung complained as he fixed his white polo shirt. His uniform consisted of a white polo shirt and black pants. The shirt had his school's insignia stitched into it, but it only made Jinyoung itchy. 

"You've been in Seoul for five days already and your Uncle Seongwoo is waiting for you! He set up a desk for you in his class and he even told his class that a new student was coming." Minhyun replied as he held out a black cardigan for his son. It was the nearing the end of November, which meant that the cold weather was approaching. Minhyun wanted to make sure Jinyoung had enough layers so that he wouldn't get cold in school. 

Jinyoung frowned slightly as he put the cardigan on. He struggled for a moment with the buttons, but he was soon able to put it on all by himself. He was still nervous about making new friends.

"Are you going to drop me off at school?" Jinyoung asked as he got his backpack from the dining table. His father was wearing a nice pair of pants and a button-down shirt. Jinyoung also noticed that his father had a white lab coat draped across his arm. He figured it was his father's special doctor coat. 

"I'll drop you off before going to work." Minhyun smiled at his son before passing his son another jacket. Jinyoung grumbled softly before putting the jacket on. His father was being way too protective over him.

"And are you going to pick me up from school?" Jinyoung asked as he and his father started to leave the apartment. Minhyun made sure to lock the door behind him before they left the building.

"I have a late shift at work, so I won't be able to pick you up today. Someone else is bringing you home, you can ask you Uncle Seongwoo about him." Minhyun replied. The school was within sight almost immediately and Jinyoung could feel his steps becoming heavier and heavier. 

"Don't be nervous, Baejin. Everything will be just fine." Minhyun said to his son as they got closer to the school. There were many kids walking towards the school, most of them were with their parents. Jinyoung almost felt jealous when he saw other children walking with both their mother and father. 

"Doctor Hwang! Doctor Hwang!" 

Both Jinyoung and Minhyun turned around when they heard a child's voice calling from behind them. Jinyoung stared at the young boy that was running towards him. He had big doe eyes and a wide smile on his face. He appeared to be Jinyoung's age as well.

"Oh, hey there Jihoon. Where's your brother?" 

"Woojin has a cold, so mom told him to stay home or else he might get all of the third-grade sick!" The young boy exclaimed loudly, causing Minhyun to smile and Jinyoung to flinch. He wasn't used to such a loud person. All of his friends in Busan were fairly quiet compared to this new person.

"By the way, this is my son, Bae Jinyoung and Jinyoung, this is Park Jihoon. I met him and his younger brother a few times at the hospital. You two are in the same class, starting today." Minhyun said, introducing the two children to each other. Jihoon smiled widely at Jinyoung, who just nodded in reply. Jihoon's smile quickly faded when he noticed Jinyoung's lack of response. 

"Why don't I bring him to the classroom, Doctor Hwang? I can even introduce him to some of my friends!" Jihoon said, just as loudly as before. Jinyoung looked up at his father and frowned, not exactly pleased with the idea. He didn't want to be separated from his father just yet.

"Thanks for the offer, Jihoon, but I think it's best for me to bring him to the classroom. You're welcome to walk with us though." Minhyun said, still smiling at the young boy. Jihoon's enthusiasm remained unfazed as he nodded his head excitedly. 

"I think you're really going to like our class! We have a lot of fun in Teacher Seongwoo's class. I'm the class president, so I can introduce you to everyone!" Jihoon said as he walked beside Jinyoung into the school building. 

The school had two floors and Jihoon went on to explain that the fourth and fifth grade classes were on the second floor. Jinyoung was only half-listening as Jihoon talked more about their class. They walked up the stairs with Jinyoung's father behind them. 

"Baejin, this is your class here on the right." His father said as they finally made it up the stairs. Jinyoung could see Seongwoo standing outside of the class with a clipboard in class. 

"Why does he have a clipboard in his hands?" Jinyoung asked, speaking to Jihoon for the first time. Jihoon just grinned before replying. 

"He makes parents sign their kids in and out of class, just as a precaution. Hey, Doctor Hwang, can you sign me in today?" Jihoon said, looking up at Jinyoung's father. 

"Only this once, Jihoon."

Jihoon smiled and ran forward towards Seongwoo. The teacher was smiling brightly when he saw his student approaching and his smile somehow got even brighter when Jinyoung and Minhyun came into sight.

"Jihoon! Jinyoung! I'm glad you guys are here today." Seongwoo handed Minhyun the clipboard and the young doctor scanned the page quickly, signing his name beside both Jinyoung and Jihoon's names. 

"Jinyoung, have a nice day at school today. I'll see you later tonight." Minhyun said as he gently pat his son's head. He would have kissed his forehead, like he normally does, but he didn't want to embarrass him in front of potential new friends. 

"Is Jaehwan coming to pick him up later?" Seongwoo said as Jihoon practically dragged Jinyoung into the classroom. He chuckled softly when Jihoon asked him to place his jacket in the small cube next to his own.

"Yeah, but Jinyoung hasn't actually met him yet... Nor does he know who he is to me." Minhyun said as he let out a nervous sigh.

"Good luck with that then, Minhyun."

"Thanks Seongwoo, you always know what to say."

"I'm sure those two will be just fine."

-

There were two fifth grade classes at the elementary school that Seongwoo worked at, but somehow he managed to have very interesting children in his class.

First, there was Park Jihoon, who was extremely adorable, but a bit of a control freak. He was very enthusiastic and even though he was quite young, he was a perfectionist. He's the one that had the idea to have a class president and vice president (and of course, he won that election). 

Secondly, there was Lai Guanlin, one of three foreign exchange students in the entire school. Ironically enough, all of the foreign exchange students were in Seongwoo's class. Guanlin was the son of Taiwanese business man and he regularly traveled back and forth from Korea to Taiwan. He always had Taiwanese snacks to share with the class.

Then there was Lee Daehwi, a young boy who was born and raised in California. He had moved to Korea only six months ago and was still struggling with the language. He had help from Park Jihoon and his other classmates, but his usual mistake was just using informal language when talking to teachers. He was a very polite child who always offered to help.

The final foreign exchange student was Samuel Kim Arredondo, who like Lee Daehwi, was born and raised in California. He also struggled with the language, but Daehwi normally explained things in English to him to try to help. 

"Class! We have a new student to introduce today. I'm sure you all know Doctor Hwang, since he's visited the class a few times. Today, we have his son, Bae Jinyoung, joining our class today." 

The class let out a gasp when they heard Minhyun's name mentioned. Seongwoo had asked the young doctor to visit the class a few times to help teach the students about taking care of their bodies and what to do when they were sick. He was extremely popular with his students.

Jinyoung nervously bowed towards the class before introducing himself, "Hello, my name is Bae Jinyoung. It's nice to meet you all today." 

Instead of smiling, Jinyoung had a blank look on his face. Jihoon was the only one smiling at him.

"Does anyone have any nice questions for Jinyoung before we choose his seat?" Seongwoo asked his class. Two hands were raised and one belonged to Park Jihoon, the other Lai Guanlin. Seongwoo let Guanlin ask his question first.

"Why is your name Bae Jinyoung if Doctor Hwang is your dad?" Guanlin asked innocently and the teacher immediately grimaced at the question. He forgot about Jinyoung and Minhyun's unusual situation.

"My mother and father aren't married. I have my mother's family name." Jinyoung asked calmly, seemingly unaffected by the question. Guanlin just nodded his head slowly as he brought his hand back down.

 "What was your question, Jihoon?" 

"Can Jinyoung sit next to me?" Jihoon asked as he pointed at the empty desk next to him. 

Seongwoo had arranged his class so that there were two desks connected to each other, simulating a buddy system. There was an odd number of students in his class, but Jihoon had volunteered to sit alone in the beginning of the year. 

"Is it alright if you sit next to Jihoon, Jinyoung?" Seongwoo asked and Jinyoung silently nodded his head. Even though they had just met, Jinyoung was already comfortable with Jihoon. He didn't mind having to sit next to him. 

"Alright, Jinyoung why don't you go have a seat and we'll get started with class today." Seongwoo smiled at his students before he turned and started to write on the board.

It was going to be a long day, but Seongwoo was happy to have his friend's son in his class. 

-

"Are you seriously still nervous about picking Baejin up later?"

"Hyung, you don't understand! I've only ever seen him in pictures. He doesn't even know who I am, or better yet, he doesn't even know who I am to you."

"Hmmm, and who exactly are you to me?"

"Stop teasing me!"

"I'm just kidding, Jaehwan. You know I love you." Minhyun smiled as he held his phone to his ear during his lunch break. It was a busy day at the hospital, but he was able to break free and take eat his lunch.

"I love you too, but don't try to change the subject. What if he asks who I am? What do I say?" Kim Jaehwan, Minhyun's boyfriend of nearly three years, said on the other end of the line. Minhyun felt guilty about waiting so long to introduce Jaehwan to his son, but there was never an opportunity to. 

Jaehwan was a traveling musician that typically did shows around the country. He wasn't that famous yet, but he was slowly building his fanbase. When he wasn't on the road, he was working at a cafe that was down the street from Minhyun's apartment. That was where they first met. Jaehwan was the barista that not only gave Minhyun coffee instead of tea, but he also accidentally spilled it across the young doctor's thigh. There was a light scar that was left because of the burn. Jaehwan felt guilty every time he saw it, but Minhyun said he was thankful for it because that was how they met. 

"Knowing Jinyoung... He might not even ask you who you are. He's not comfortable with asking strangers questions like that, so he'll probably just wait until I get home." Minhyun said, chuckling softly as he heard Jaehwan let out a frustrated groan. 

"Do you think he'll like me?" Jaehwan said in a quiet voice. Minhyun frowned as he heard Jaehwan's sudden change of tone and he could tell Jaehwan was genuinely concerned. 

"Jaehwan, I think he'll like you, but you have to know that it takes Jinyoung a while to warm up to people. He's going to feel a bit awkward when he finds out we're dating, but he's an innocent kid that doesn't know any better. Don't worry too much about it, I'll be there to talk to him." Minhyun said, trying to reassure his boyfriend. Jaehwan tended to have confidence issues, but Minhyun was always there to encourage him through it. 

"Okay, I guess you're right. Do you want me to cook for dinner tonight?" Jaehwan said and Minhyun hummed softly in reply.

"Can you make spaghetti for dinner? Jinyoung likes spaghetti and everything is already in the pantry. Also, don't forget to ask Jinyoung if he wants a snack when he comes home from school. Cut him some fruit." 

"Sir yes sir! I know you're on your break, but make sure you actually eat some food. I'll see you later tonight." Jaehwan replied and Minhyun smiled.

"Don't worry, I'll finish my lunch. I love you." 

"I love you too. Have a nice rest of your shift."

Minhyun's smile never faded as he ended the phone call with Jaehwan. Minhyun loved Jaehwan with all his heart, but he knew his boyfried was worried over nothing. He was sure Jaehwan and Jinyoung were going to be just fine.

-

Jinyoung could tell who was supposed to pick him up from school from the moment he stepped out of the classroom.

The young man looked to be around his father's age, but slightly younger. He was brown hair and dark eyes and simply put, he looked a bit plain. 

"Ah, that's Kim Jaehwan. He supposed to be picking you up today." Seongwoo said as he pointed at the young man. Jaehwan stepped forward and smiled at Jinyoung.

"N-Nice to meet you, Jinyoung. I'm a... friend of your dad's." Jinyoung immediately caught on to Jaehwan's hesitation and he looked up to Seongwoo with a slight worried expression.

"Is this really who's supposed to pick me up?" Jinyoung asked and his teacher laughed loudly at Jaehwan's panicked expression. 

"Yes, don't worry. Jaehwan's one of my friends too and he's a good guy. By the way, Jaehwan, don't forget to tell Minhyun about my belated Thanksgiving idea." Seongwoo said, grinning at the other young man, who rolled his eyes.

"Are you seriously still planning that?"

"I'm a New York man! So yes, I am." 

"Alright, I'll tell him." Jaehwan said as Seongwoo handed the clipboard over to him to sign. Jaehwan quickly signed next to Jinyoung's name before nodding at the boy.

"Alright, let's get headed over to your place." Jaehwan smiled and Jinyoung walked next to him. 

It was fairly silent as the two walked back over to the apartment. Jinyoung was curious about who exactly Jaehwan was, but he knew It was rude to question an adult without proper reason. He also knew his father would probably explain everything later when he returned home from work.

"So, how was school?" Jaehwan said, looking over to Jinyoung. 

"It was okay... I have some very interesting classmates and Uncle Seongwoo's a cool teacher." Jinyoung replied softly, thinking back to how his day at school went. Jihoon had really introduced him to everyone in the class and he was able to make a few friends. 

"That's good. I know moving to a new school can be pretty rough." Jaehwan said, smiling at the young boy.

They remained quiet as they approached the apartment. They walked up the stairs and just as they got to their apartment, Jaehwan fished out keys from his jacket pocket. Jinyoung thought it was strange how Jaehwan had keys to his father's apartment, but he never said anything to the young man. 

"Do you want a snack? Your dad said he has some fruit in the fridge." Jaehwan said as he took off his shoes at the entrance. Jinyoung nodded his head as he did the same.

"Can I have some strawberries?" Jinyoung asked as he hung his jacket by the door.

"Alright, I'll cut some for you. Did you have any homework?" Jaehwan asked as he stepped into the kitchen, which was to the left of the entrance. Jinyoung watched him carefully and noticed that Jaehwan knew where everything in the kitchen was. He must have been to the apartment many times. 

"Uncle Seongwoo wants me to work on a student profile. I'll work on it now." Jinyoung said, taking his folder out of his backpack. He set all of his stuff on the island that was in the kitchen. Jaehwan watched him with curious eyes as he started to do his homework. 

Jaehwan smiled at Jinyoung before preparing the strawberries for the young boy. Jinyoung seemed to be a good kid and even though it was obvious that he wasn't completely comfortable around Jaehwan, he didn't shy away from him either.

Jaehwan handed Jinyoung a bowl of cut strawberries and took a seat next to him at the counter. 

"Did you need any help with your homework?" Jaehwan asked, reading the sheet of paper Jinyoung was writing on. The student profile was just a simple sheet of paper with various questions, meant to help Seongwoo know more about his students.

"No, I think I'm alright for now. Do you know what time my dad's going to be home?" Jinyoung said as he bit a strawberry. 

Jaehwan glanced at the clock before replying, "It's 4 right now, so your dad should be coming home in an hour. I'm going to be making spaghetti for dinner tonight." 

Jinyoung's expression brightened immediately after he heard the word spaghetti. He looked over to Jinyoung with wide eyes and a small smile on his face.

"I like spaghetti!"

"Good, I'll start making it soon. Do you want to help me make the sauce when you're done with your homework?" Jaehwan said, smiling back at Jinyoung. Minhyun's son nodded his head and stared back at his homework. 

Jaehwan watched Jinyoung fill out his homework and the first he noticed was that Jinyoung had a very similar handwriting compared to Minhyun. It wasn't that Minhyun's handwriting was childlike, but rather it was that Jinyoung's handwriting was very refined for his age. Jaehwan felt as if his own handwriting was sloppy compared to the elementary student's.

It took Jinyoung a few minutes to finish his homework and once he was done, he turned to Jaehwan with a smile on his face.

"Can we start making the spaghetti sauce?"

"You got it."

-

Minhyun always thought that living by the hospital was a blessing and a curse at the same time. It was a blessing because it was so close, he could walk. It was a curse because after an exhausting shift, he would still have to walk back home. The walk was normally short, but walking back home always felt like an eternity.

However, there was a slight skip to his step as he walked home. He was happy to be coming home to his son and Jaehwan and he was curious about if they were getting along fine.

As soon as he stepped into his apartment, he saw the mess.

There was red sauce  _everywhere_. On the ceiling, on the countertops, on the floor. It was everywhere.

"Kim Jaehwan." Minhyun called out, trying to remain as calm as possible. 

He saw his boyfriend's head pop up from behind the counter, and followed by it was his son's own head. Minhyun smiled at his son, but the smile quickly faded when he saw his son's white uniform covered in red sauce as well.

"Baejin! What happened to your uniform? Do you know how long it's going to take me to get these stains out?!" Minhyun rushed over to his son, who had a small grin on his face.

"It's okay dad! Jaehwan hyung offered to buy me a new shirt because he knew you'd freak out." Jinyoung smiled at Jaehwan, who just laughed nervously.

"Listen, Minhyun... There was a slight accident and sauce kind of exploded everywhere. But I'll clean it up!" Jaehwan said, looking up at Minhyun with a guilty smile on his face. 

"Why don't you go get washed up, Baejin? Put your stained shirt in the sink and I'll start cleaning it later tonight." Minhyun said as he kissed his son's forehead. Jinyoung nodded his head and ran off to his room.

Once he was out of sight, Minhyun turned to Jaehwan with a frown on his face.

"How'd you get sauce on the ceiling?!" Minhyun exclaimed, throwing his hands up in the air. Jaehwan just shrugged in reply, not sure how to explain himself.

Minhyun let out a sigh before leaning his forehead against Jaehwan's. He was tired from his shift, but was still thankful for having Jaehwan around to be with Jinyoung when he was busy at work. 

"You okay?" Jaehwan said softly, looking up at Minhyun. 

"Yeah, work was just exhausting." Minhyun said, pressing his lips against his boyfriend's. Jaehwan smiled against his lips before pulling away to take a better look at Minhyun.

"You still need to tell Jinyoung about us." 

"I know, I know. I'll do that during dinner." Minhyun replied as he kissed Jaehwan's lips once more. It's been a few days since Minhyun saw Jaehwan, due to his schedule at work and Jinyoung, so he really missed him. 

"Are you going to tell him that I live here too?" Jaehwan continued on. Minhyun nodded his head before taking off his coat. 

Minhyun had asked Jaehwan to move in with him last year, but due to Jaehwan's traveling musician career, he only stayed over a few times a week. His things were all in Minhyun's room. 

"Oh, I'm going to be working at the café for the next few months. I think I need a break from shows." Jaehwan said, smiling a bit. He had decided to take a break from performing because he wanted to spend some time with Jinyoung and Minhyun. 

"Perfect. Do you think you can pick up Baejin from school every day?" Minhyun asked, smiling back at Jaehwan. His shift typically ended around 5 PM, which was an hour after Jinyoung's school day ended. 

"That's fine, I'll work morning shifts at the café. By the way, Seongwoo hyung's inviting us to his place for his belated Thanksgiving gathering" Jaehwan replied, turning his attention back to the spaghetti. Even though the sauce had exploded, everything was still working out fine. Dinner was going to be ready soon.

"I'll be sure to talk to him about it." Minhyun kissed the top of Jaehwan's head before making his way over to his room. He changed out of his clothes and into some sweatpants and a t-shirt. 

He yawned as he walked out of his room and he smiled when he saw Jinyoung in his pajamas. His son ran over to him and wrapped his arms around his waist, giving him a hug.

"Hi dad, did you have a good day at work?" Jinyoung asked, clinging to his father. Minhyun smiled at his son before picking him up, holding him in his arms. Jinyoung was too old and too big to be carried like this, but Minhyun couldn't help himself. He missed a majority of Jinyoung's childhood and this was the only way for him to make up for it.

"It was busy, but it's okay. I'm glad I'm home now." Minhyun said, hugging Jinyoung close to him. 

From the kitchen where he was watching, Jaehwan smiled as he watched Minhyun and Jinyoung have their moment. When they first started dating, Minhyun had kept Jinyoung a secret from Jaehwan. He wasn't sure how Jaehwan would react and he definitely didn't want Jaehwan to think that he was having an affair with another person. Having a child at such a young age was difficult for Minhyun, but he never minded it.

They had been dating for a month when Minhyun first brought up Jinyoung's name. Minhyun and Jaehwan were at a mall, shopping for nothing in particular. Then Minhyun had suddenly remembered that Jinyoung's birthday was coming up, so he needed to buy a present for the young boy. When Jaehwan asked who Jinyoung was, Minhyun had accidentally let it slip that he was his son.

Jaehwan was upset for a few days, but after Minhyun explained the full story, he wasn't as mad. Every time Minhyun went to Busan to visit his son, Jaehwan begged him to take him with him, but Minhyun wasn't sure Jinyoung was ready for that. 

"Come on now, Jinyoung. Let's set the table for dinner." Minhyun said as he set his son down. Jinyoung walked over to the kitchen and got three plates down from the cabinet. He wasn't quite tall enough to reach the cabinets, but Minhyun had bought him a stool so that he could reach. 

Jinyoung started to set the table, placing all of the utensils they needed at the table as well. Jaehwan brought over a bowl of spaghetti and he set it in the center of the table. Minhyun and Jaehwan sat next to each other with Jinyoung sitting across from them.

"So, did Jaehwan pick you up right after school?" Minhyun asked as he placed some spaghetti on his son's plate. Jinyoung immediately started to eat the spaghetti and Jaehwan was glad the young boy seeemed to like it so much.

"Yeah, Uncle Seongwoo pointed him out to me." Jinyoung said after swallowing some spaghetti.

"Ah, that's good. Tomorrow, please don't make a mess when you come home." Minhyun said, laughing softly. 

"Don’t worry. We won't!" Jinyoung said, smiling at his father. Jaehwan gently nudged Minhyun from under the table, signaling him to tell Jinyoung.

"By the way, Jinyoung... There's something Jaehwan and I need to talk to you about." Minhyun started off, looking back and forth between his son and Jaehwan.

"You're dating, aren't you?" Jinyoung said, staring blankly at his father. Jaehwan choked on his spaghetti and start coughing loudly, causing Minhyun to start patting on his back.

"How did you know?!" Minhyun said with wide eyes. He was so sure Jinyoung would have no idea about them, especially since Jaehwan and Jinyoung haven't met. 

"Dad, there were two toothbrushes in the bathroom when I got here. Also, you kind of forgot to take out the pictures of you and Jaehwan from the bookcase by the TV." Jinyoung said, taking another bite of his spaghetti.

"MInhyun hyung, it's either you're really dumb or your son is really smart." 

"It's probably both."

Minhyun just let out a sigh of relief before smiling at his son, "Are you okay about this, Jinyoung? I mean, I know this can be a bit hard to take." 

"No, it's alright dad. I don't mind as long as you're happy." Jinyoung said, nodding his head slowly. It was obvious to see that his father and Jaehwan were together. The bookcase that was next to the television had many of his father's medical textbooks, but on the very top shelf there were framed picures. There was one picture of Jinyoung and Minhyun on the young boy's fifth birthday and there was another on his eighth birthday. Between those two pictures were a few pictures of Minhyun and Jaehwan. There was one in particular that caught Jinyoung's attention. It was the two adults together in a photobooth. The first two panels were seemingly normal pictures, however in the third picture his father was kissing Jaehwan's cheek and in the fourth panel it was Jaehwan kissing his father's cheek. 

Jinyoung saw that picture days ago, but decided not to say anything to his father about them. 

He was happy that his father had someone important in his life and he was interested in learning more about Jaehwan during his stay in Seoul.

-

A month later, Jinyoung had settled into his life in Seoul. He was doing well in school and was finally friends with everyone in his class. Jihoon had proclaimed himself as Jinyoung's best friend, but the young boy didn't really mind. He liked Jihoon's company a lot and they had a lot of the same interests. Jinyoung was also close friends with Daehwi, which automatically made him close friends with Samuel. Guanlin was also part of their usual friend group.

At home, things were going just fine as well. A week after Jinyoung had met Jaehwan, the three of them went over to his Uncle Seongwoo's house for a belated Thanksgiving dinner.

Jinyoung was definitely confused, because Thanksgiving was an American holiday, but Jaehwan just explained that Seongwoo used to live in New York, so he believed he was an American at heart.

Jinyoung still thought it was strange though.

At this Thanksgiving dinner, Jinyoung met more of his father's friends. He met Kang Daniel, who was Uncle Seongwoo's on-and-off boyfriend. Things were kind of complicated between them due to their long distance relationship. Kang Daniel was a modern dancer in Busan and he regularly did performances there. He was pretty friendly and as soon as he found out Jinyoung was born and raised in Busan, he started speaking satoori to him. 

Jinyoung also met Yoon Jisung, who was a director of operations at the hospital his father worked at. He was at a high position at the hospital, but he was very humble about it. He also slipped Jinyoung some pocket money, so Jinyoung liked him even more.

The final person he met at the Thanksgiving dinner was Ha Sungwoon, who also worked at the hospital. Rather than a doctor, he was a nurse in the emergency department. He became friends with Jinyoung's father after they worked on a case together. 

Jinyoung was the only child at the dinner, but he didn't feel left out at all. Apparently, his father had talked about him to all of his friends and they all had wanted to meet him. Jinyoung liked all of his father's friends and they were nice to him too. 

The only thing Jinyoung can remembered after meeting his father's friends was that he ate way too much. He ate so much that he eventually fell asleep on his Uncle Seongwoo's couch, so Minhyun had o carry him when they went home.

"Did you have fun tonight, Baejin?" Minhyun asked softly as he and Jaehwan tucked Jinyoung into bed when they arrived home.

"Yeah, the food was good too." Jinyoung said before closing his eyes to sleep. Minhyun smiled and kissed his forehead before leaving the room with Jaehwan. 

A month had already passed, meaning Minhyun only had eleven months left with Jinyoung before he would return to Busan. 

Minhyun knew Jinyoung would eventually have to leave, but time was moving too fast for him. He didn't want to his son to leave him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> leave a comment below and tell me what you think! thank you for reading!


	4. chapter three.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> winter. part one.

"Okay class, your winter break is coming up in two weeks, but before you're dismissed for it, we have a project to do!" Seongwoo smiled at his class, despite the collective groans that were heard. 

"Alright, alright. No complaining! I'm only preparing you for middle school next year, which is a lot harder compared to elementary school. Now, you'll be working in partners for this project and it’s going to take a few days for you guys to complete. I want you to come up with a very detailed presentation about the topic of your choice." Seongwoo continued on as he started to pass out a piece of paper to his class. 

On the paper had the criteria for the project, though Seongwoo was giving his students a lot of leeway with this project. They had to choose a subject and get it approved. After that, it was up to them to choose how to present their topic to the class.

"We have only twenty minutes left in class, so I need you guys to decide who you're going to work with for the project. Then decide on your topic and then come to me to get them approved." Seongwoo took a seat at his desk and watched as everyone started to talk to each other, trying to decide partners and topics. 

"Jinyoung! Wanna be my partner?" Jihoon said, scooting his chair closer to Jinyoung's. The young boy from Busan just nodded his head. He was expecting Jihoon to ask him anyway.

"Sure, but what should our topic be?" Jinyoung said as he read the paper their teacher had given them. They had so many choices to choose from.

"It should be something fun... Oh! I know, I know!" Jihoon exclaimed and Jinyoung stayed silent, waiting for Jihoon to say this suggestion for the topic.

"Why Ong Seongwoo is the best teacher!" Jihoon said, finishing his statement. Jinyoung blinked slowly, unsure about whether or not that was a good idea. Everyone in the class was fond of their teacher, so it was possibly a good idea.

"Do you think he'll approve it?" Jinyoung asked as he wrote down their topic on a piece of paper.

"Of course he will, it's about him." Jihoon laughed and the two went over to their teacher's desk to get their topic approved. 

Jihoon was right, Uncle Seongwoo approved of the topic almost immediately. In fact, he was extremely excited to see what their presentation was going to be like.

"Do you want to start working on the project today after school?" Jihoon asked as the bell run, signalling the end of their school day. Jinyoung and Jihoon walked over to the back of their classroom to where their jackets and bags were stored. 

"We can work at my dad's apartment, if your mom doesn't mind." Jinyoung said while putting his things into his bag. Uncle Seongwoo was already at the door of the classroom, letting parents sign their children out. Jihoon's mother was waiting at the door and she smiled at her son when she saw him.

"Mom, can I go over to Jinyoung's place today? We have a project we need to work on." Jihoon said, looking up at his mother with wide eyes. Jinyoung could tell he was trying to win her over. 

"Sure, as long as his father doesn't mine." His mother said, smiling at her son and Jinyoung. 

Jaehwan was standing to the side, waiting patiently for his turn to sign the clipboard to sign Jinyoung out. Once he signed his name, he walked over to Jinyoung and placed his hand on his head.

"Your dad's going to be home late again tonight, but it's alright for your friend to come over to work on your project." Jaehwan said, looking back and forth between Jihoon and his mother.

"Alright, I guess that's decided then. Be good Jihoon! I have to go pick up Woojin from his classroom now." Jihoon's mother kissed her son's forehead before walking back down the stairs towards the other classrooms.

"Okay kids, it's time to get going." Jaehwan said and the two elementary students walked behind him after saying goodbye to their teacher.

It was already the beginning of December, so snow was falling from the sky. Everyone was wearing thick jackets and Jinyoung was wearing both earmuffs and a scarf, thanks to his father. Jaehwan had a thick scarf on, but his nose was already turning red due to the cold weather.

With the snow falling at such a fast rate, there was bound to be some trouble walking back home. Jaehwan nearly slipped, but both Jinyoung and Jihoon helped him regain his balance. Luckily, they made it to the apartment without any injuries.

"Kids, don't forget to take off your shoes and jackets when you step inside. Minhyun's going to freak out if he sees puddles of water everywhere." Jaehwan said as he unlocked the door to the apartment. Jinyoung and Jihoon nodded their heads, listening to the adult. 

"Can we work at the kitchen counter for our project?" Jinyoung asked as he took off his jacket. He hung his jacket up by the door before taking Jihoon's jacket and doing the same.

"Sure, I'm going to cut you guys some fruit as a snack before I start getting dinner ready." Jaehwan said, washing his hands in the sink. The two elementary students settled themselves at the kitchen counter with the piece of paper their teacher gave them and another blank piece of paper. 

They decided to make a poster dedicated to their teacher and have pictures of him in his best moments. They were going to have to ask Jinyoung's father for some pictures too.

"What's for dinner tonight, Jaehwan hyung?" Jinyoung asked, watching as Jaehwan was cutting up some vegetables. Jihoon also stared at the adult, feeling a bit curious about who Jaehwan was.

"Your dad wanted soup, since it's a cold day. So I'm making chicken noodle soup for tonight. Did you want to stay for dinner, Jihoon?" Jaehwan smiled at the other young boy, who nodded his head.

"Are you Jinyoung's other dad?" Jihoon asked, not knowing what exactly to say.

"Oh, no I'm no-."

"Yeah, he is. I call him hyung though so that he doesn't feel old." Jinyoung said, smiling at Jaehwan, who stared at him in shock. He tried his best to remain calm, but he wasn't doing a very good job at all.

"Can I call my mom and tell her that I'll be staying for dinner, Jaehwan hyung?" Jihoon asked and the young man handed him his cellphone to call his mother. Jihoon blinked when he noticed the phone's wallpaper. It was a picture of Jinyoung and Minhyun, asleep on the couch.

Jinyoung also stared at the picture, but he quickly directed his stare back over to Jaehwan who was distracting himself by staring at a carrot. 

"Thank you, Jaehwan hyung."

"Anytime, kid."

-

Jinyoung stared out of the window, watching as snow continued to pile down onto the ground. It was so high that school had been cancelled, leaving his father with the dilemma on what to do with Jinyoung during the day. Jinyoung wanted to go to school, because his project was due in about a week and Uncle Seongwoo had promised his students that they would have time to work on the project in class.

His father didn't want Jinyoung to stay home alone, but there was nowhere else for him to stay. 

"Why don't I just bring him to the café? I don't think anyone will mind." Jaehwan said, following Minhyun out of their shared room. Minhyun was already dressed in his work clothes and Jaehwan was wearing black pants and a white long-sleeve shirt, which was what he wore at the cafe. 

"What's he going to do at the café all day? Please don't tell me you want him to serve drinks. What if he burns himself?"

"Hyung, do you seriously think I would make Baejin work at the café? I'll bring him and Jihoon over to the café so that they can work on that project they've been working on." Jaehwan said, wrapping his arms around Minhyun from behind. After nearly two months of living with his father and Jaehwan, Jinyoung was used to their antics. Jaehwan was fond of clinging to his father and Jinyoung thought it was funny, especially when Minhyun tried to escape his grasp. Jaehwan had also picked up the habit of calling Jinyoung by his nickname of 'Baejin', but he didn't mind at all. 

"Alright, I guess that's better than nothing. Make sure the kids eat throughout the day, especially Jinyoung." Minhyun said, leaning back against Jaehwan, who was struggling to carry Minhyun's weight. Jinyoung laughed, watching his father and Jaehwan interact with each other. 

"Why don't you get changed, Baejin? Be sure to wear enough layers because it’s freezing outside." Jaehwan said, smiling at the young boy. He let out a groan when Minhyun continued to lean back onto him. 

"Okay, I'll go get changed." Jinyoung ran back over to his room and closed the door behind him. He was still in his pajamas, so he changed into jeans and a thick sweater. He had plenty of winter clothes, thanks to his father. 

After he was finished changing, he went back over to the kitchen where his father was drinking his morning cup of tea. Jaehwan, on the other hand, was drinking coffee.

"Do you want some milk, Baejin?" His father asked when Jinyoung walked into the kitchen. He normally made Jinyoung drink a glass of milk every morning, for his nutrition.

"Can I drink hot chocolate at the café?" Jinyoung asked, tugging on Jaehwan's shirt. The barista nodded his head and smiled.

The three of them put their jackets on to protect themselves from the cold. Jinyoung stood between his father and Jaehwan, and he even reached forward to hold both of their hands. They got a few stares, but they didn't mind. 

At the end of the block, it was time for them to separate. Minhyun had to walk down another block, but Jaehwan and Jinyoung had to cross the street. 

"I'll see you guys later tonight." Minhyun pat Jinyoung's head softly before kissing Jaehwan's cheek. He smiled at the two before waving at them while they crossed the street. Jaehwan made sure to hold Jinyoung's hand all the way across.

The walk to the café was short, but it was freezing so it felt like a long walk. Jaehwan was nervous about having Jinyoung around at the café, but the young boy was going to be preoccupied anyway. Once they entered the cafe, they were greeted by the waiters call of "welcome" and "hello".

"Oh, hey Jaehwan! Who's this?" Another barista asked as they walked closer to the counter. The cafe was arranged so that customers could see the baristas making their drinks at the counter and there were multiple tables set out throughout the café. 

Jinyoung stood behind Jaehwan, feeling nervous about meeting new people. He looked up to the barista and read his name tag that said 'Choi Minki'.

"This is Minhyun hyung's son, Bae Jinyoung. School was cancelled today, so I brought Jinyoung to work. Jinyoung, this is Choi Minki. He's a barista here too." Jaehwan said and Minki smiled at the young boy.

"Nice to meet you! You can call me Minki hyung, if you'd like." Minki said before getting ushered away because a customer needed to be served. Jaehwan led Jinyoung over to a table that was near the counter, where he would be able to keep in his sight at all times. 

"I still need to call Jihoon." Jinyoung said as he took off his jacket while sitting at the table. 

"Ah, here’s my phone." Jaehwan passed Jinyoung his phone. Jinyoung had Jihoon's mother's number written down on a piece of paper, so he dialed the number while Jaehwan went back behind the counter to start his shift. 

Jihoon's mother answered the phone after two rings and Jinyoung spoke in a soft voice while asking if Jihoon was allowed to come out to the café. His mother agreed and said that she was going to being Jihoon over in a few minutes.

"Here's some hot chocolate, Baejin." Jaehwan said as he approached the table with a mug in his hand. The hot chocolate had extra whipped cream, just like how Jinyoung liked it.

"When Jihoon gets here, can he have hot chocolate too?" Jinyoung asked, sipping some of the hot chocolate. It wasn't that hot, so he didn't have to worry about burning his tongue.

"Of course, just call me over when he gets here. Did you want to eat anything while working on the project?" Jaehwan asked as he handed the young boy a menu. 

Jinyoung looked at the menu for a moment before looking up at Jaehwan. "Can I have some chocolate chip pancakes?" 

"Alright, it'll be out in a bit." Jaehwan ruffled up Jinyoung's hair before walking away, back to the counter. 

Jinyoung sipped his hot chocolate and waited for Jihoon to arrive at the café. The table he was seated at was next to a window, and Jinyoung could see the snow piling up even more. He wondered if school was going to be cancelled for a few more days.

About ten minutes later, Jihoon, his younger brother Woojin, and their mother walked through the doors of the café. Jihoon smiled as soon as he spotted Jinyoung sitting near the back and he rushed over to him.

"Hey Jinyoung!" Jihoon took a seat across from Jinyoung after taking his jacket off. Jinyoung watched as Woojin also approached the table, the young third grader was dressed in a puffy jacket and a thick scarf.

"Jinyoung, I know you wanted Jihoon to work on your project, but do you think Woojin can stay with you guys today? I still have to go to work..." Jihoon's mother trailed off, looking around slowly.

"I think Jaehwan hyung will be okay with it. I'll ask him." Jinyoung waved his hand to call Jaehwan's attention. The barista noticed and he made his way over to the table.

"Can Woojin stay with us too? Their mom has work today." Jinyoung said, tugging on jaehwan's sleeve. Jaehwan looked over at Woojin and smiled, nodding his head.

"That's fine, did you want some paper to color on, Woojin?" Jaehwan asked the young boy. Woojin smiled, revealing a very cute snaggletooth. 

"Yes please!" 

"Thank you so much! Jihoon, don't forget to call me later when you need to get picked up. I'll see you all later." Their mother kissed the top of Jihoon and Woojin's head before walking out of the cafe. Jaehwan sighed once she was out of sight. He was definitely a babysitter today. 

"Did you guys want anything to eat? Jinyoung's going to have some chocolate chip pancakes today." Jaehwan said, looking over at the brothers.

"Can we have the same? We like pancakes." Jihoon asked, looking up at Jaehwan with hopeful eyes. 

"Alright, alright. They'll be out in a few minutes." Jaehwan replied, before walking away. Jinyoung watched as Jaehwan disappeared behind the counter, returning to his work. It was getting busy at the cafe, so Jaehwan was working on making multiple drinks at once. 

"Did you ask your dad for some pictures of Teacher Seongwoo?" Jihoon asked as he took out a notebook. He was writing down all of their research in this notebook. Jinyoung's father was a major source for all of their information. 

"Yeah, he said he was going to give me some later. Should we make a poster for the presentation?" Jinyoung suggested, trying to think of how to present all of their research. They had been working really hard on getting information about their teacher. 

"I think a poster is a good idea! We're going to have the best presentation ever. Daehwi told me that he and Samuel are going to make a presentation about California. I think their presentation will be good too." Jihoon replied, thinking about his other friend. 

"Is fifth grade hard?" Woojin asked, staring at his brother's notebook. They were only two years apart, but sometimes it felt like a larger gap. 

"Hmmm, it's not easy, but middle school is going to be even harder. What middle school are you going to go to, Jinyoung? I think I'm going to the same one as Daehwi, Samuel, and Guanlin." Jihoon said as he wrote something down in his notebook.

"I'm going back to Busan for middle school."

"What?"

Jihoon stared up at Jinyoung with a shocked look on his face. He wasn't expecting that answer.

"I'm only going to live with my dad for a year, so I'm going back to Busan during summer vacation next year." Jinyoung said, not looking up from his paper. 

Jihoon opened his mouth to say something, but was interrupted when Jaehwan came back around with a tray full of food. He glanced at Jaehwan for a moment, but he then directed his attention back over to Jinyoung. Jaehwan set the food onto the table, oblivious to what had just happened at the table. 

Jinyoung noticed Jihoon's sudden lack of enthusiasm throughout the rest of their stay at the café. He felt bad, but he had to be honest about how long he was going to be in Seoul. 

Nearly two months had passed, meaning Jinyoung's time in Seoul was quickly fading.


	5. chapter four.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> winter. part two.

Their teacher had scheduled the day of their presentations on the day right before their winter break and each pair had to randomly pick numbers to decide their order. Jihoon and Jinyoung had picked the last number, so they were going to present last. 

Their classmates had interesting presentations. Guanlin and his partner made a song about music, and the two had even written their own lyrics for the song. Uncle Seongwoo seemed to really enjoy it.

Daehwi and Samuel also had a fun presentation about California, where they were both from. They had pictures of many landmark that they had visited and it made Jinyoung want to visit California as well. 

When it was finally Jihoon and Jinyoung's turn to present, Uncle Seongwoo had all of his attention focused on them. He was smiling widely, pretty excited about the presentation. 

"Today, we're going to be doing a presentation about why Ong Seongwoo, our teacher, is the best teacher ever!" Jihoon exclaimed and their teacher cheered loudly, clapping his hands. Jinyoung had to try his best to suppress his laughter.

"Before we start, here's some basic information about Ong Seongwoo. He was born on August 25 in 19-" Jinyoung's speech was cut off when their teacher coughed loudly. Jihoon glanced at him and the teacher just waved his hand, telling them to continue on. 

"Uh, he was born in 19-" Once again, Jinyoung's speech was cut off by their teacher. He was coughing and hitting his chest. Jinyoung could tell he was faking it though and he figured his Uncle Seongwoo just didn't want his age to be revealed.

"Anyways, he was born in Seoul and he lived here for nearly all his life, but then he moved to New York to be a model! He worked as a model there in New York for a few years." Jihoon continued on and he pointed at a picture that was on their poster. It was a picture of their teacher when he was still a model. The class let out a gasp in unison, they had no idea their teacher used to be a model. 

"After he worked as a model, he came back to Seoul and got his education degree to become a teacher. Here's a picture of him at graduation with my father." This time, Jinyoung pointed at another picture and it was of their teacher at his graduation. Their teacher was wearing a cap and gown and Jinyoung's father was smiling wearing normal clothes. Jinyoung had discovered that because of his Uncle Seongwoo's modeling job in New York, he had graduated a bit later than normal.

"Then after his graduation, he became a teacher here in this school! But now, we're going to be talking about why he's the best teacher ever." Jihoon said as he pointed at another picture on the poster. It was their class photo that they had taken for the yearbook. Their teacher was standing in the back with a wide smile on his face. All of his students looked equally as happy.

"Jihoon and I think that Teacher Seongwoo is the best teacher because he lets us bring snacks to share during lunch. I always like eating snacks from Guanlin." Jinyoung said and the class erupted into laughter. Guanlin turly did bring the best snacks.

"And he's also the best teacher because he has music time! It's fun when Teacher Seongwoo sings too because I like his voice." Jihoon explained. From his desk, Seongwoo just smiled. He was told his entire life he was a good singer, but he never thoguht anything of it. He was glad his students liked his voice though.

Jinyoung and Jihoon's presentation went on with no trouble at all and in their opinion, they did pretty well. The rest of the class seemed to like the presentation and their teacher even asked if it was alright if he kept their poster. He was going to hang it up in the classroom.

"Alright, we had a lot of good presentations today! I liked how creative you all got. You all passed your presentations and I hope you have a nice two weeks of vacation. I'll see you all in the new year." Seongwoo said before dismissing his class. The fifth grade class cheered when they were finally dismissed from class. The students started to gather their things and Jinyoung did the same. His friends quickly gathered around him, all dressed in their puffy winter coats.

"Do you guys want to hang out during vacation?" Daehwi started off, looking back and forth at his friends. 

"Yeah! I'm staying in Korea for vacation this year. Let's have a sleepover!" Guanlin exclaimed, jumping up and down.

"I don't think I can have a sleepover at my apartment... My mom doesn't like having messes everywhere and Woojin might bother us." Jihoon said, frowning a bit.

"Yeah, I don't think my grandmother will let me have people over either. Plus, we don't have anything to do at my house." Samuel said, pouting his lips. He was temporarily living with his grandmother and she was very old-fashioned. 

"I can ask my dad about having it at our apartment, if you guys don't mind." JInyoung spoke up as he wrapped his scarf arwrapped his scarf around his neck.

"Oh cool, Doctor Hwang's apartment?! I'm in!" Guanlin cheered and Jinyoung just laughed. His father was popular among his friends.

"Let's all write down our numbers for Jinyoung to call if his dad says yes." Jihoon suggested, taking out a piece of paper from his bag. They all wrote the phone numbers down before handing the paper back to Jinyoung.

"I'll ask my dad later when he gets home." JInyoung said and his friends cheered once more. The five boys walked out of the classroom and Jinyoung spotted Jaehwan talking to Seongwoo. 

"I'll see you next week, Jinyoung." Seongwoo said to his student as Jaehwan signed him out.

"But vacation is two weeks long, right?" Jinyoung asked, feeling a bit confused. 

"Your dad and I have somewhere to go next week, so you're going to be spending the night with your Uncle Seongwoo and Uncle Daniel." Jaehwan said, patting Jinyoung's head softly. 

"Oh, alright. I'll see you later Uncle Seongwoo." Jinyoung bowed his head towards his teacher and waved goodbye to his friends before walking away with Jaehwan.

The two walked hand-in-hand through the snow that had piled onto the ground. It was freezing outside, so Jaehwan gave Jinyoung his hat to wear. He knew Minhyun would be upset if Jinyoung were to get sick. 

"Do you think my dad will let me have a sleepover with my friends here?" Jinyoung asked once they reached the apartment. Jaehwan hummed softly as he helped removed Jinyoung's jacket.

"I don't think he'll mind. You guys would probably have to sleep in the living room, but we can move your bed there for you guys." Jaehwan replied once Jinyoung's jacket was off. He hung it by the door before making his way over to the kitchen. He started to boil some milk to make hot chocolate for Jinyoung. 

This was going to be Jinyoung's first Christmas without his mother, so he was bit worried about how he would feel. She had kept their promise and they talked to each other nearly every other day, but he still missed her. She was adjusting to life well in London and had even made a few friends. 

He also missed his grandparents, but he called them whenever he had the chance. They seemed to be doing fine by themselves.

Even though they weren't able to spend much time together before in the past, Jinyoung was happy with his father now. He had learned a lot about his father and he felt even closer to him now. Jinyoung also felt closer to Jaehwan, especially because Jaehwan was the one that typically picked him up after school. He liked Jaehwan and was glad his father found someone like him.

"Jinyoung, you need to go take a bath before your dad gets home." Jaehwan said, causing the ten year old to snap out of his thoughts. Jinyoung nodded and made his way over to the bathroom. 

His father was going to be home soon and Jinyoung needed to make sure he was in a good mood before asking about his friend's sleeping over.

-

Luckily for Jinyoung, his father had agreed to the idea of him having a sleepover. However, his father made him promise that there would be no messes after the sleepover. Jaehwan had even prepared a bunch of snacks for Jinyoung and his friends, so that they would never get hungry throughout the night.

"Hey Doctor Hwang! Hi Jaehwan hyung!" Jihoon exclaimed as he walked into the apartment with Guanlin right behind him. Daehwi and Samuel were on their way as well. 

"Hello to you too, Jihoon. Hello there, Guanlin." Minhyun smiled at the kids as they walked in. He was making soup for dinner, since it was a cold day and to make sure the kids stayed warm. 

Jaehwan was busy setting up the living room for the sleepover, so he just waved instead. He was making a fort out of some blankets and was almost finished with it. Jinyoung wasn't sure how he was able to make the fort so big, but he was definitely thankful for it. 

Minutes later, Daehwi and Samuel were at the door with Daehwi's mother behind them. Minhyun greeted his mother and reassured her everything was going to be fine for the night. Daehwi's mother kissed her son on the cheek before leaving the apartment.

"Alright kids, so we promised Jinyoung we wouldn't bother you guys tonight, but we have a few rules! First, no yelling or loud noises after 9PM. Second, if you spill something, make sure you clean it up. Third, do not stay up all night! The final rule is, don't try to pull and pranks on us. I'm watching you guys." Jaehwan said, however he said the last rule while facing Jihoon, who was just smiling innocently back at him. 

"Okay!" The kids chimed in unison. Minhyun just chuckled softly before calling them all over to eat some dinner. 

Dinner went on smoothly, despite Jaehwan's worries of someone spiling anything. After dinner, Minhyun and Jaehwan washed the dishes and let the children go watch TV. Once the dishes were done, they retreated back to their room, leaving the children in the living room.

"Doctor Hwang's apartment is really nice." Daehwi said as he looked around. He had never been over to Jinyoung's apartment before, so everything was new to him.

"Yeah, dad's apartment is a lot nicer compared to my mom's house." Jinyoung said, smiling a bit. His father's apartment was more modern compared to his mother's traditional house.

"Where's your mom now, Jinyoung?" Samuel asked as he picked a spot on the floor to lay down on. 

"She's in London right now, so that's why I'm living in Seoul with my dad." Jinyoung answered as he looked for something for them to watch on TV.

"Does that mean you'll be leaving when your mom comes back?" It was Guanlin asked the question this time, but Jinyoung didn't mind. He had already explained his situation to Jihoon, but his other friends didn't have any idea about anything.

"Yeah, I'm leaving Seoul during summer vacation next year." Jinyoung said and all of his friends immediately frowned when hearing that. Jinyoung hated how he ruined the mood, so he quickly threw a pillow at Jihoon.

"Pillow fight!" 

Winter in Seoul definitely felt colder to Jinyoung. He wondered if it was going to be just as cold in Busan next year.

-

"Did you pack your pajamas?"

"Yes."

"Did you pack your toothbrush? Your shampoo? Your soap?"

"Yes, yes, and yes."

"Did you pack extra underwear?"

"Yes, dad! Yes."

"Okay, did you pa-"

"Minhyun hyung! He packed everything he could possibly need."

Jinyoung let out a sigh of relief when Jaehwan saved him from more questions from his father. Today was the day that Jinyoung was going to sleep at his Uncle Seongwoo's and his father was just worried.

"You're right, sorry for asking too many questions." Minhyun chuckled and kissed the top of his son's head. Jinyoung just smiled at his father before hugging his waist. 

"Where are you guys going anyway?" Jinyoung asked as he looked up at his father. He and Jaehwan were dressed in formal clothes, so Jinyoung just assumed they were going somewhere fancy.

"Well, it's my three year anniversary with Jaehwan today, so we're going out to dinner tonight at a fancy restaurant." His father replied and Jinyoung just smiled.

"Alright, I hope you guys have fun tonight." Jinyoung said and Jaehwan just pat the younger boy's head. They were both a bit worried about leaving Jinyoung with Seongwoo (to be more specific, they were more worried about Daniel), but they knew things were going to be just fine. Seongwoo knew how to take care of children.

Seongwoo appeared at the door moments later with Daniel standing right behind him. Jinyoung grabbed his bag and was prepared to carry it, but Daniel took it instead.

"Uncle Seongwoo, can I ask you a question later?" Jinyoung said as he tugged on his teacher's sleeve. 

"Sure kid." 

"Make sure he eats dinner and don't let him stay up late, Daniel." Minhyun said and the young dancer just scoffed. 

"Why are you telling me that?"

"You're more likely to keep bugging him instead of letting him sleep."

"Minhyun hyung! I'm great at taking care of kids!" 

Jaehwan and Seongwoo just laughed as they watched their boyfriends talk to each other. Minhyun and Daniel were close friends, but they always teased each other about anything and everything. 

After a few more minutes of mindless teasing, Seongwoo and Daniel left with Jinyoung. Jinyoung wasn't sure how he felt about being left with his father's friends for a night, but he was excited to see what his Uncle Seongwoo had in mind. 

"By the way, Jinyoung, you said you had a question you had to ask me?" 

Jinyoung looked up at his uncle, who was all bundled up in a scarf and hat. Uncle Daniel was dressed equally as warm.

"Do you think my dad will be lonely when I return to Busan next year?" Jinyoung said as he let out a sigh, watching as his breath was seen in the air. 

"Of course he will! You're the only thing your dad ever talks about." This time, it was Daniel that answered Jinyoung. The young boy looked up at the dancer and tilted his head to the side.

"What do you mean, Uncle Daniel?"

"You're one of your father's greatest inspirations. He's working really hard as a resident doctor so that he can provide for you and Jaehwan." The dancer said with a wide smile on his face. 

"Don't think too much about the future yet, kid. You still have months to go before you go back to Busan." His teacher said and Jinyoung nodded his head. 

His uncle Seongwoo was right, it was still too soon to think about saying goodbye.

But the thought of leaving Seoul still lurked in the back of his mind.

-

On Christmas Day, both Jaehwan and Minhyun were off from work, so they decided to spend all of their time with Jinyoung. They let the young boy choose what they had to do for the entire day.

"Dad, stay still!"

"Yeah Minhyun hyung, stay still!"

Unfortunately for Minhyun, his son decided to come up with a card game that involved drawing on the loser's face. Minhyun had already lost two times. Both Jaehwan and Jinyoung were drawing random shapes on the young doctor's face, much to his dismay.

After the game, Jinyoung had decided that it was finally time for lunch. Minhyun and Jaehwan had made spaghetti for the young boy, since he loved it so much. However this time, Minhyun was the one to make the sauce because he didn't want to risk Jaehwan making another mess.

"Can we make cookies, Jaehwan hyung?" Jinyoung said as he twisted his fork around some pasta. His father was getting some wine for Jaehwan and some juice for Jinyoung.

"What kind of cookies do you want to make, Baejin?" Jaehwan asked as he took a napkin to wipe some sauce away from Jinyoung's cheek. He was a messy eater whenever he ate spaghetti.

"What kind of cookies are your favorite?" Jinyoung asked when his father placed a glass of juice on the table in front of him. He thanked his father with a smile before drinking some juice. His father had given Jaehwan a glass of wine as well, but his father was just drinking water. 

His mother had once mentioned that his father was horrible at drinking alcohol.

"Jaehwan's favorite kind of cookies are peppermint cookies, Baejin. Did you want to make some after lunch?" Minhyun said and Jinyoung nodded his head. Jaehwan just smiled and patted the young boy's head softly.

"We can make the cookies you like, if you want to." Jaehwan said, but Jinyoung just shook his head again. He wanted to make Jaehwan hyung's favorite cookies.

As soon as he finished his lunch, Jinyoung borrowed his father's phone to look up a recipe for the peppermint cookies. He wanted to make them all by himself, but he wasn't that good at baking, so Jaehwan had to help him while his father cleaned up. Making the cookies was time consuming, but Jinyoung felt like he needed to do his best in order for the cookies to turn out good. 

He nearly dropped the bag of flour on the floor, but luckily his father managed to catch it in time before it made a huge mess. After mixing all of the ingredients together. Jinyoung clumsily roled the dough into balls to put on the baking tray. His father and Jaehwan were watching him with wide smiles on his face.

"Baejin, do you ever get lonely?" His father suddenly asked, causing Jinyoung to look up at him.

"Not really. I have you, mom, Jaehwan hyung and my friends." Jinyoung replied as he stared at his father.

"I mean, do you want a sibling? Like a brother or sister?" His father continued on and Jinyoung just blinked.

"Is mom having a baby?"

"No, no she's not. I don't think she is... What I'm trying to say is, what if Jaehwan and I adopt a baby? Would that be alright with you? Or would you rather that we not?" Minhyun said, finally explaining what he originally meant. Jaehwan glanced back and forth between the father and son, feeling a bit nervous. 

He and Minhyun had been talking about having children for a few months. It was a sensitive topic, considering the fact that Minhyun already had a child of his own and the entire process that Jaehwan and Minhyun would have to take was a bit different and unconventional. However, Jaehwan didn't want to let the topic go. 

The one thing Jaehwan thought was necessary was Jinyoung's permission. Jaehwan didn't want to take Jinyoung's father's away from him even more.

"I want a sister."

Jaehwan smiled immediately when he heard Jinyoung's voice. The young boy had returned his attention back to the cookies, but it was obvious that he was still listening.

"You want a sister? If we adopted a girl, would you want to help pick out a name for her?" Minhyun asked as he wrapped an arm around his son. Jaehwan smiled once more when he saw Jinyoung nod his head.

"Yeah, and I'll protect her from anyone that bothers her."

"You'd be the perfect older brother." Minhyun kissed the top of his son's head before smiling over at Jaehwan, who nodded his head as well. He was happy that Jinyoung had given them their permission. 

"Dad, help me with these cookies for Jaehwan hyung."

"Alright, alright. Let's get these cookies in the oven."

Christmas was a cold day, but thanks to his father and Jaehwan, Jinyoung was able to stay warm and happy. He wasn't sure if he was going to get a younger sister, but he was truly hoping for one. 

Winter soon passed over and the year soon ended. The snow melted away and spring was now in bloom. 

Jinyoung had eight months left in Seoul. Only eight months.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh 
> 
> thanks for reading : )


	6. chapter five.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> spring. part one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> we're coming closer to the end of the seasons... im going to be planning a sequel for this fic when baejin is older (a teenager, most likely) and there will be some spinoff one-shots as well about minhyun + jaehwan and daniel + seongwoo, probably : )
> 
> let me know what you think in a comment below!

March was a beautiful month, in Minhyun's opinion and spring was definitely Minhyun's favorite season. The weather was nice during spring and flowers were blooming nicely. During spring, Minhyun typically had flowers as a centerpiece on his dining room table. He liked flowers and learning the meaning about each flower was interesting to him as well.

"White camellias? These are new."

"They mean you're adorable."

Minhyun chuckled at the sight of Jaehwan's blushing face before leaning in to kiss his lips softly. Another reason why Minhyun liked flowers was because Jaehwan liked them as well. He like using the language of flowers in order to tease Jaehwan.

"Couldn't you have just told me that instead of get these flowers?" Jaehwan grumbled as he walked over to the fridge. The blush was still evident on his face.

"The flowers smell nice too." Minhyun smiled and made his way over to his son's room. It was Saturday morning, so the young boy didn't have school. However, he still needed to wake up at a reasonable time.

"Baejin, wake up. You need to eat breakfast before going over to Daehwi's house." 

A loud thud was heard and Minhyun sighed, knowing exactly what had caused that sound. His son wasn't sleeping as soundly as he used to be, which meant he was getting to sleep later. Minhyun wasn't quite sure what was causing it though.

"He used to wake up so early... I wonder what happened to Baejin." Jaehwan frowned as he cut up some fruit for the young boy. He was worried about him as well.

"Do you think something happened at school?" Minhyun said as he sat down at the table. Jaehwan placed a plate of fruit and cereal in front of him before sitting down as well.

"Maybe, should we ask him about it?" Jaehwan said before taking a sip of his coffee.

"Let's ask Seongwoo if everything's been going okay at school first. I don't want Jinyoung to think we're bring nosy."

"But isn't asking Seongwoo about this being nosy?"

"…Maybe."

Their conversation was cut off when Jinyoung finally opened his door. His hair was a mess and he still looked as if he was half-asleep. 

"You okay, Baejin?" Jaehwan asked with a worried look on his face. The young boy took a seat at the table before sniffing his nose. 

"I keep sneezing and my eyes are all watery." Jinyoung said, rubbing his eyes.

"Did this ever happen in Busan?" Minhyun asked as he stood up from his seat to take a closer look at his son. He cupped his cheeks and stared into his eyes for a moment. 

"No, this never happened before. Am I sick?" Jinyoung asked, sniffing his nose again.

"You definitely don't have a fever, so it looks like you have seasonal allergies. Let's just visit the hospital before going over to Daehwi's house so that we can get you medicine." Minhyun said and Jinyoung nodded his head before sneezing twice in a row. Jaehwan passed the young boy a tissue to blow his nose. 

"This is the first time you're here in Seoul during Spring, so maybe next time you visit me you should bring medicine with you." 

Jinyoung stayed silent for a moment as he thought about his father's words. It was already March, meaning he had lived in Seoul for four months already. His mother was to going to return to Busan at the end of August, which was only five months away. He only had five more months to spend with his new friends and his father. He almost didn't want to return to Busan. 

Almost.

-

Jinyoung knew something was wrong the minute he stepped out of his school. He was holding Jaehwan's hand tightly as he stepped outside, but the only think he could see were flashing red and blue lights. There were sirens wailing in the distance, meaning more help was on the way. 

"Oh, no..." Jaehwan gasped outloud when he saw the multiple car accident that had happened in front of the school. There were people screaming and chaos was happening in the streets.

"Jaehwan hyung, what's going on?" Jinyoung asked, looking up at his father's boyfriend. 

"Listen to me Jinyoung.  I need you to get on my back, okay? And close your eyes. Keep them closed." Jaehwan said as he crouched down to Jinyoung's level. The young boy nodded his head and as soon as Jaehwan turned around, he climbed onto his back.

"Keep your eyes closed, Jinyoung. Don't open them until I say so." Jaehwan said and the young boy buried his face in Jaehwan's hood to avoid looking at everything. 

Jinyoung could feel that Jaehwan was walking back to the apartment quickly. He could still hear the sounds from the car accident, but he tried his best to keep the noise out. He started counting in his head to keep the sound out. 

"Almost there, Jinyoung. You're doing great." 

Jaehwan never let Jinyoung down until they were safely in the apartment building. The sirens from the car accident could still be heard in the distance, but Jaehwan started to play classical music on his phone to keep Jinyoung distracted.

"Is dad going to be working late at the hospital tonight, Jaehwan hyung?" Jinyoung asked as he took off his shoes and sweater. Jaehwan smiled sadly and nodded his head.

"Yeah, he's probably going to be there all night."

"Can I sleep with you tonight until he gets home?" Jinyoung asked and Jaehwan nodded his head once more.

"Of course, Jinyoung. Now, let's start your homework and get dinner ready."

-

Minhyun knew the sacrifices he had to make by becoming a doctor. However, he also knew that he had the responsibility of helping people get better.

Unfortunately, Minhyun also knew that it was extremely difficult to help everyone get better. 

The car accident had caused two fatalities and despite all of the hospital's efforts, another person lost their life after being transported to the emergency room. Minhyun was assisting another doctor and they tried everything they could to keep the person alive. It was a hard day for Minhyun and his steps felt heavy as he was walking back home late at night. He had stayed at the hospital for nearly sixteen hours and it was nearing midnight already. 

Once he was home, he noticed the plate of food that was waiting for him on the table. There was a small note next to the plate as well.

"We love you. - Jinyoung & Jaehwan" 

Minhyun smiled at the note and he placed it on the fridge with a magnet. After heating the food, Minhyun sat alone at the table. He ate slowly, listening to the sound of a quiet night in Seoul. He was tempted to turn on the TV, but he knew it would awaken both Jinyoung and Jaehwan.

"Hyung?" 

Minhyun turned and saw Jaehwan, in his pajamas, standing in the doorway of the kitchen. Minhyun felt his lips tremble at the sight of his boyfriend and Jaehwan quickly made his way over to him.

"Shh, it's okay. It's okay, Minhyun." Jaehwan wrapped his arms around his boyfriend, holding him close to his chest. Minhyun was still seated in his chair, but he wrapped his arms around Jaehwan's waist. 

And then he started to cry.

"We couldn't do it. We tried so hard. Sungwoon hyung tried to help too but-" Minhyun couldn't control his tears as he tried his best to talk to Jaehwan. This was one of the hardest parts of becoming a doctor, but Jaehwan had always been around to help Minhyun through it.

"You did your best, please don't shut yourself out after this. I'm here if you need me." Jaehwan said, resting his chin on top of Minhyun's head. He had only said that because the last time something like this had happened, Minhyun had stopped eating for a few days and he became unresponsive to Jaehwan. He shut himself out completely. Jaehwan became desperate and even cried in front of Minhyun, trying to get him back to normal. 

"Come on, you need to take a shower and then you can go to sleep. Jinyoung slept in our bed because he was waiting for you." Jaehwan pulled Minhyun's arm, forcing the young doctor to his feet. He still had tears in his eyes, but Jaehwan carefully wiped them away. 

"If I asked you to marry me, what would you say?" Minhyun said softly as Jaehwan pulled him towards the bathroom. Once in the bathroom, Jaehwan started the shower before turning to his boyfriend.

"You already know the answer to that question." Jaehwan replied as he helped Minhyun undress. 

Minhyun just hummed in reply and Jaehwan left him in the bathroom to start his shower. Jaehwan then walked into their shared room to grab Minhyun some clothes and luckily Jinyoung was still sleeping in the middle of the bed. Jaehwan smiled at the sight before getting fresh clothes for Minhyun to wear. 

His boyfriend was done washing up by the time he returned to the bathroom with the clothes. Minhyun was drying himself off with a towel when Jaehwan entered the bathroom.

"Shouldn't you knock?" Minhyun said when Jaehwan handed him the clothes.

"Nope." Jaehwan smiled and waited for Minhyun to put the clothes on. Once Minhyun was fully clothed again, Jaehwan dragged him back over to their room. Jaehwan climbed into bed on his usual side and Minhyun did the same. The only thing that was different this time was the young boy sleeping between them.

Minhyun kissed his son's cheek before wrapping his arms around him. Jinyoung let out a soft groan in his sleep, but he didn't wake up. Minhyun cuddled closer to his son and let out a quiet yawn. He then closed his eyes and drifted to sleep, dreaming about nothing but the springtime breeze and a field of orchids.

-

Rain was pouring from the sky, but that was no reason to cancel school. Jinyoung sighed as he buttoned up his raincoat and put on his rain boots. It had been raining since early morning and there were no signs of it stopping yet. 

"How long is it going to keep raining?" Jinyoung asked as his father put on his coat. Jaehwan had an early shift at the café, so Minhyun was going to bring Jinyoung to school.

"The rain is going to stop tomorrow, I think. Oh, I'm going to pick you up from school later because Jaehwan is working extra hours today." 

"So he can't even pick me up? Why is Jaehwan hyung working extra hours?" Jinyoung pouted his lips for a moment before stepping outside of the apartment. He had gotten used to Jaehwan being the one to pick him up from school and he even looked forward to spending time with the young man.

"Pretty sure he's trying to earn more money to buy you a birthday present. Your birthday is in three weeks, Baejin." Minhyun chucked at the look of shock on his son's face. It was already the middle of April, so there wasn't much time until his son turned eleven.

"Oh, I almost forgot about my birthday... Can I have a birthday party?" Jinyoung asked as he held his father's hand while walking to school. 

"Sure! We'll invite all your friends and I'll invite some of my friends too, but listen Baejin, Jaehwan's birthday is two weeks after your birthday. I'm still thinking about what to get him though." 

"His birthday is in May too?" Jinyoung asked and his father gently squeezed his hand, signaling that the answer was yes.

"Do you want to get him a gift?"

"Yeah, but I want it to be special so I'm going to think about it first." Jinyoung said once they reached his school. His father walked with him into the building and up the stairs towards his classroom, where his teacher was already waiting.

"Oh, hey Minhyun. You're dropping off Jinyoung today?" Seongwoo asked as he handed Minhyun the clipboard. Minhyun quickly signed his name by Jinyoung's as his son walked into the classroom.

"He didn't even say bye." Minhyun pouted his lips, causing Seongwoo to laugh.

"He's like that to Jaehwan too. Speaking of Jaehwan! When are you going to pop question?" Seongwoo smirked at his friend and nudged him with the clipboard.

"On his birthday, but I still need to get the ring." Minhyun said and Seongwoo's smirk faded into a slight smile. 

"Why don't you ask Jinyoung to help you choose the ring? I'm sure Jaehwan would love it even more." Seongwoo suggested, still nudging the young doctor with the clipboard. 

"Jaehwan's working late again, so I was planning on taking Jinyoung out today to look at some rings. And also, has there been anything going on in school lately? Jaehwan and I noticed that Jinyoung's been acting a bit off..."

Seongwoo stayed silent for a moment as he thought of all of the possible reasons as to why Jinyoung would be acting strange and he let out a gasp once he thought of something.

"We've been talking about middle school in class lately. Most of my students are going to the same middle school that's a few blocks away, but Jinyoung's the only one that's not going to stay in Seoul for middle school. He already told his friends about how he has to move back to Busan." Seongwoo explained and Minhyun frowned, nodding his head. 

"Jinyoung's mother returns in August, so Jinyoung only has about four months left in Seoul... I wish he could stay longer, but his mother takes such good care of him. I can't take him away from her." Minhyun said, still frowning. He let out a sigh before glancing in the classroom, watching as Jinyoung took a seat in his desk next to Jihoon. His friends were all around his desk and it looked like they were having a fun time just talking to each other. 

"We've got to make these next four months fun for him. It's going to be hard for the kid to say goodbye to his friends."

"Yeah, I know. Listen, I'll see you later when I pick up Jinyoung. I have a short shift at the hospital today." Minhyun waved goodbye to Seongwoo before walking away from the classroom.

He couldn't wait for his shift at work to be over.

He really wanted to find the perfect ring for Jaehwan.

-

Jinyoung knew he was supposed to be happy that his mother was returning from America, but something just didn't feel right. He had gotten so used to living in Seoul with his father that he forgot what living in Busan was like.

In Busan, his friends were all quiet and reserved, much like himself.

But in Seoul, Jinyoung had Jihoon. Jihoon was loud (almost too loud) and enthusiastic. He was nothing like his friends back home. Jihoon was never afraid to speak his mind, but he also tried to help everyone he could. 

Jihoon kind of reminded Jinyoung of his own father, in a way. They were both similar people, besides the fact that his father wasn't too boisterous. 

Not only did Jinyoung have Jihoon, but he also had Daehwi, Samuel, and Guanlin in Seoul. 

Jinyoung also had his Uncle Seongwoo, Uncle Daniel, and Jaehwan hyung is Seoul as well.

He had so many people in Seoul.

He didn't want to go back home. 

-

"Hey Jinyoung, what do you want for your birthday?" Jihoon asked. It was lunch time and the fifth graders were eating in the school cafeteria. Jinyoung thought for a moment before shrugging his shoulders.

"I don't really want anything. I mean, as long as my dad throws a party I think I'll be fine." 

"Yeah, but you're turning eleven! You gotta have some cool gifts when you turn eleven, right?" Jihoon asked, this time looking over at Daehwi.

"I think thirteen is a more important age, because you get to be a teenager." The young boy replied and Samuel scrunched his nose up at the sound of that.

"I don't want to be a teenager yet. I think it's hard." Samuel said as he poked his food around with a fork.

"My mom said high school is hard because you have to do really good in high school if you want to get into a nice college." Jihoon said, pouting his lips. His mother was always yelling about college and school and grades. It gave Jihoon a headache sometimes.

"I think I'll be happy as long as you guys show up to the party." Jinyoung said, smiling at his friends. They all let out a groan, realizing it would be hard to get Jinyoung a present.

The five then went on to talk about various things, but Jinyoung was only half paying attention. With his birthday coming up, he had a lot to think about. He wasn't sure if he even wanted anything for his birthday, which was rare. Normally, he would ask is mother for a new toy or a new game, but this year, he seemed to be content with everything he had. There was nothing at all that he actually wanted. 

Except for a sibling, but he had already talked to his father about that.

"Do you think the spelling test tomorrow is going to be hard?" Guanlin said, frowning at the thought of having a spelling test. He was good at speaking Korean, but writing in Korean was another story. Daehwi and Samuel struggled a bit with spelling as well.

"Teacher Seongwoo's spelling tests can get pretty hard. Remember last month when he made up some words? I can't believe Jinyoung managed to spell one of those words right." Jihoon said, grumbling as he remembered the last spelling test. The fake words were for extra credit, but Jihoon still didn't get any of them right. Jinyoung was able to get a perfect score and spell one of the fake words right. 

"Hopefully he doesn't do that again this time. I've been studying the spelling list for the last week. My mom's been helping me study too." Daehwi said as the school's bell rang, which meant lunch was now over. The fifth graders gathered their trash together and threw it away before walking back to their classroom. 

The teacher was still eating by the time they got to the classroom. He was seated at his desk and reading a book while taking a bite out of a sandwich. 

"Lunch time is over already? That was fast." The young man said as he finished his sandwich. He closed his book and drank some of his water before standing up.

"Alright class, get your notebooks out. It's time for math."

Seongwoo smiled at the sounds of protest that his class gave off. It was pretty obvious that they didn't like math, but they all seemed to do well in it anyway. 

He was just preparing them for their life in middle school. 

Even if they didn't all go to the same middle school.

-

"Dad, why do you look so nervous?" Were the first words out of Jinyoung's mouth when he saw his father waiting for him. 

Minhyun just sighed at the sight of his son before replying, "Sometimes you're too straightforward, just like your mother."

"Mom says that's my best trait." Jinyoung grinned at his father and waited for him to sign him out for the day. He waved goodbye to his teacher and walked next to his father as they left the school. 

"What would you do if Jaehwan and I got married?" Minhyun said, glancing at his son out of the corner of his eye.

"Wouldn't life pretty much be the same? You guys live together anyway." Jinyoung pointed out and Minhyun nodded his head. His son had a good point. 

"It's not just about that, but being married signifies so much more than just living together. I just want to spend the rest of my life with Jaehwan." Minhyun said, smiling as he reached for his son's hand when they approached a street crossing. Jinyoung held his father's hand before walking across the street. 

"If you spend the rest of your life with Jaehwan hyung, can I still see you?" Jinyoung said, causing Minhyun to stop walking. He immediately crouched down to his son's level to look in his eyes.

"Jinyoung, you come first in my life before anyone else. You can see me all you want and if you don't want me to marry Jaehwan, then I won't." Minhyun said without any hesitation. 

Jinyoung's eyes widened at what his father said and he quickly shook his head, "Dad! You have to marry Jaehwan hyung. He makes you so happy and he makes me happy too. I like him a lot." 

Minhyun's smiled once more at his son before giving him a tight hug. Jinyoung wrapped his arms around his father's neck and hugged him equally as tight.

"Let's go pick out a ring for Jaehwan before he comes home." Minhyun said as he released his son from the hug. Jinyoung nodded his head and smiled brightly.

"Alright, I'm going to pick out the best ring ever." 

"I'm sure you will, Baejin."


	7. chapter six.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> spring. part two.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it seems like people are interested in a sequel! i'll start drafting one soon. 
> 
> comment below and tell me what you think!!!! : )

Jinyoung's birthday fell on a Sunday this year, so luckily, he was able to have a party. His father had decorated the apartment with various decorations and balloons, while Jaehwan baked a giant chocolate cake. 

The now eleven-year-old's only responsibility was making sure that the apartment was clean before the invited guests came over. He even spent some time cleaning the bathroom the day before. He wanted to make sure the apartment was spotless for the party.

The first guests to arrive where Seongwoo and Daniel. His teacher was holding a giant box that was wrapped with some birthday wrapping paper. His Uncle Daniel, on the other hand, was just carrying a small envelope with him.

"Happy birthday, Jinyoung!" The couple exclaimed at the same time as they handed their presents to the boy. Jinyoung bowed and said thank you before taking the presents over to the table. He was going to open everything later. 

"Jinyoung, when you go back to Busan, you and your family should come see a performance of mine." Daniel said, smiling at the young boy. 

"Can we get free tickets?" Jinyoung grinned, but Daniel nodded his head. 

"Yeah, I'll get you some free tickets. Maybe I'd be able to meet your mom too!" Daniel said, patting the top of Jinyoung's head. 

"You already know his mother, Daniel. You went to the same elementary school." Minhyun chimed in as he finished tying a ribbon to a balloon. 

Seongwoo just tilted his head feeling a bit confused at what Minhyun said. Daniel would have told him if he had known Jinyoung's mother. 

"What do you mean, hyung? I've never met his mother." Daniel said, staring at Minhyun. To his knowledge, he was never formally introduced to Jinyoung's mother.

"Do you remember that older girl that you followed around when you were in elementary school? You always pulled on her ponytail." Minhyun started off as he approached the young dancer. Jinyoung made his way over to Jaehwan and he stood by him, looking back and forth between his Uncle Daniel and his father. 

"Yeah, I remember her! Oh my God, that's his mom?!" Daniel ran over and took a closer look at Jinyoung, cupping his cheeks to keep his face still. Jinyoung whined and tried to pull away from the man. 

"I used to like your mom, kid! Oh my God, you could have been my child..."  Daniel gasped and released Jinyoung from his hold. Minhyun rolled his eyes and merely shook his head.

"She was looking through one of her old yearbooks when she saw your picture and name. I forgot to tell you about that." 

"So you're telling me my boyfriend used to like my student's mom? Okay, this is weird." Seongwoo said from his seat on the couch. He laughed at Daniel's panicked expression.

"I only liked her because she was cute!" 

"Hey! My mom is more than just cute!" This time it was Jinyoung that spoke up, causing the adults to laugh. A knock on the door quickly quieted them down.

Jaehwan went over to the door and opened it, revealing Jihoon's mother with her two sons. Jihoon had a wide grin on his face as he walked into the apartment. His younger brother was carrying the present in.

"Happy birthday!" Jihoon said as he ran over to give Jinyoung a hug. Woojin followed his brother and also gave Jinyoung a hug.

Unfortunately, their mother had to go to work, so she quickly left after saying happy birthday to Jinyoung. The birthday boy took the present from Woojin and set it on the table as well.

The boys busied themselves with eating snacks and watching TV with Seongwoo while waiting for more people to show up. Daniel, Minhyun, and Jaehwan were busy talking in the kitchen.

"I can't believe you used to like Jinyoung's mom." Jaehwan laughed and Daniel just smiled. He was a kid back then and having a little crush was harmless.

"You know, I remember what she looked like and Jinyoung really resembles her. Are you sure he's your kid too?" Daniel said, leaning over the counter a bit towards Minhyun's direction.

"Yes, he's my son. Thankfully he's not yours." Minhyun said, shuddering at the idea of Daniel and Jinyoung's mother together. Even though they were only friends, Minhyun was still slightly protective over Jinyoung's mother.

"Anyway, how much longer does your kid have in Seoul? Seongwoo told me that he was only supposed to live here for a year or so." Daniel said as he glanced over to where his boyfriend was sitting with the kids. 

"He's leaving at the end of August, which is just about three months away. I really don't want him to leave. I mean, look at how much he's grown since he's been here. He's matured so much and he made so many friends..." Minhyun said, smiling sadly in his son's direction. Luckily, Jinyoung's attention was on the TV, so he didn't see his father's stares. 

Jaehwan leaned his head against Minhyun's shoulder, letting out a sigh. His boyfriend was moping again, but Jaehwan knew it was too be expected. He was getting emotional on his son's birthday.

"You're going to keep visiting him though, right? Seongwoo told me about how you go to Busan like every month to see him." Daniel said and Jaehwan just chuckled softly. It was obvious that Seongwoo told Daniel everything about Minhyun's situation.

"Yeah, but it won't be the same. Waking up and seeing his face is totally different to visiting him on weekends." Minhyun said, still staring at his son. 

Jinyoung had changed immensely during the last seven months. He was able to break out of the shell he had used in Busan and he became very energetic. He still had his moments of seriousness, but there was a part of him that changed as well. He was maturing right before Minhyun's eyes. 

And Minhyun didn't want to see his young son grow any more. He had already missed most of Jinyoung's childhood, but now he was approaching his adolescent stage. He was going to be entering middle school later in the year, which meant even more changes.

Jinyoung was growing way too fast.

Minhyun quickly snapped out of his thoughts when another knock on the door was heard. Jaehwan pulled away from Minhyun's side to go answer the door. 

"Happy birthday!" Multiple voices cheered when the door opened. Jinyoung smiled when he saw Guanlin, Samuel, and Daehwi enter with Yoon Jisung and Ha Sungwoon behind them. 

"Hey kid, happy birthday!" Both Jisung and Sungwoon handed him an envelope, but Jinyoung passed them over to Jaehwan. He didn't want to lose any cards, so he made sure to give them to someone who wouldn't lose it.

Since all of the invited guests arrived, Minhyun thought it was a good idea to start lunch. He and Jaehwan had prepared more than enough food to feed everyone that was in the apartment. The children separated themselves from the adults and sat by the TV, watching some cartoons while eating their food. On the other hand, the adults were seated at the dining table, talking about some very important topics.

Like Jaehwan's music career. 

"You haven't had a show in months, Jaehwan. Don't you miss it?" Sungwoon said while eating his food. Jaehwan frowned and shook his head as he took a sip of Minhyun's glass of water. 

"I guess having Jinyoung around made me want to stay put for a while. I mean, the café always keeps a position open for me, so I think it was alright to take a break from performing." The musician said, almost forgetting about how many shows he used to put on. Occasionally, he still played his guitar, but he hadn't performed a full song in months. Jinyoung seemed to be pretty interested in learning how to play the guitar, but Jaehwan never got around to giving him lessons.

"Are you going to start performing once Jinyoung leaves?" Jisung asked and this time Jaehwan nodded his head.

"Maybe I'll just do one show a month. I missed Minhyun hyung a lot whenever I was performing far from home." Jaehwan pouted a bit and his boyfriend just smiled at the sight. It was hard on both of them whenever Jaehwan was performing in a far venue.

"Dad! Can I have more food?" Jinyoung ran over to the table with an empty plate in his hands. Minhyun took the plate from his son and placed more food on it. Jinyoung smiled and said thank you before running back over to the TV.

"I can't believe your son is eleven now... and you're still young, Minhyun. By the time he graduates from high school, you won't even be forty yet." Seongwoo said as he glanced over at his students. The cartoon held all of their attention. 

"Minhyun hyung won't be forty until after Baejin graduates from college. Wow." Jaehwan said, doing some quick math in his head. If everything went well for Jinyoung in school, Jinyoung would be graduating high school when Minhyun is just thirty-four years old. 

"He's the youngest parent of a fifth grader at the school. Some of the mothers of my students joke that you could be their son." Seongwoo said, laughing a bit. Minhyun laughed along, feeling amused at the thought. 

"Having a child at seventeen is hard! Imagine how hard it was for his mother though." Minhyun said, thinking back to when Jinyoung was born. Life was very difficult and Minhyun wasn't quite sure how he managed to get through it.

"What if the hospital had a 'Bring Your Kid to Work' day? Jinyoung would definitely sure some attention." Jisung said after thinking for a moment.

"All of the doctors would love him." Sungwoon said, smiling over at the child. He was sure Jinyoung's polite mannerisms would win the doctors over.

"Sorry if this is random, but I wonder what the kids are talking about over there." Daniel whispered, as if the children were close to them. 

Seongwoo sighed and pinched Daniel's cheek, "You don't need to whisper. They can't hear us."

At the TV, the children were watching an action cartoon about superheroes. Woojin was enjoying it the most. He was also sitting the closest to the TV and Jihoon kept having to pull the young boy back because he was blocking the way.

"What do you think your dad got you for your birthday?" Guanlin asked the birthday boy, who just shrugged his shoulders in reply. 

"I actually don't know." Jinyoung said after thinking for a moment. He didn't want anything at all from his father, so he was just expecting a surprise. 

"Kids, do you guys want to play a game?" Jisung said as he walked over to where the children were. 

"What kind of game?"

"And what's the prize?"

Jisung laughed softly at the questions before replying, "The prize is going to be bragging rights. But anyways, let's play Four Corners! Have you guys ever played that before?"

Daniel booed from the dining table, "Hyung! That's such an old game!"

"What kind of game is that?" Jinyoung asked, tilting his head a bit. He had never heard of that game before.

"Basically, there's four corners and one person is blindfolded. The person has to choose a corner and whoever is in the corner is out. Everyone else has to walk quietly to the corner they want so that they don't want to get caught. We keep going until one person is left." Jisung explained and Jinyoung smiled, liking the idea of the game. 

"Let's play that game! Who's going to be blindfolded first?" Jinyoung said as he stood up. 

"Since it's your birthday, why don't you choose?" Sungwoon suggested and Jinyoung immediately pointed at Daniel. Minhyun laughed at his friend's shocked reaction.

"Alright, I'm gonna get you, birthday boy." Daniel said, as Jisung handed him an eye mask. 

The game was good for both the adults and children to play, which made Jinyoung happy. Jisung numbered each corner and everyone waited for Daniel to put on the eye mask. Once the eye mask was on, Jinyoung quietly walked over to the corner number one. Jihoon and Guanlin has followed him into the same corner. 

Daehwi was in the corner number two with Seongwoo and Jaehwan. Seongwoo kept his hand over his own mouth, trying to keep himself from making any noise. Jinyoung looked over at corner number three and saw his father standing there with Samuel and Woojin. Everyone else was in corner number four. 

Jinyoung wasn't sure if he was going to win the game, but he definitely knew he was going to have a really fun birthday party. 

-

"Minhun hyung, I can't believe you won the game twice in a row."

"I'm as equally as surprised as you are, Jaehwan." 

Jinyoung smiled as he helped his father and Jaehwan clean up after the party. It was already late at night, but they still had a bit of cleaning to do. His birthday party was fun and Jinyoung thought it was the best part he had ever had. 

"Dad, can I open my presents when I'm done cleaning?"

"Of course you can, Baejin. Just finish wiping the counter and then we'll start opening your presents." Minhyun smiled and kissed the top of his son's head before walking away. He left the kitchen and walked towards his room, leaving Jaehwan and Jinyoung alone. 

"Why don't you go wait by your presents? I'll finish wiping the counter for you." Jaehwan said and Jinyoung cheered for a moment before going over to the couch where all his presents were gathered. Jaehwan wiped the counter down as Minhyun came out of their room carrying one large box and one smaller box.

Jinyoung's eyes widened at the sight of the boxes and he let out a soft gasp. He hadn't expected anything large from his father or Jaehwan.

"Open the other presents first. You can open these afterwards." Minhyun said, smiling as he brought the boxes over to his son. Jaehwan quickly joined them on the couch, watching as Jinyoung started to open presents.

Jihoon had given Jinyoung a new water bottle, which had confused Minhyun and Jaehwan. However, the young boy explained that he had told Jihoon about wanting a new water bottle during school. Jihoon had given him a blue metal water bottle, and upon further expection, Jinyoung saw his name engraved on the side of the bottle. 

Daehwi gave him a new jacket and Samuel gave him a limited edition action figure. Guanlin had given him a box of assorted snacks from Taiwan as well. Jinyoung received money from Jisung, Sungwoon, and Daniel. 

The next present Jinyoung decided to open was from his teacher. It was a large box as well, which made Jinyoung curious about what exactly it was. The birthday celebrant quickly unwrapped the present and he let out a gasp at the sight of the present. It was a three-foot tall model of Gundam robot that his teacher had talked about in class before. Jinyoung has asked many questions about it and it seemed like Seongwoo had remembered his interest in it. 

"Seongwoo totally spoiled you." Jaehwan said as he passed the next box over to Jinyoung. It was the large box that his father was holding earlier.

"This big one is from Jaehwan. Open it, open it!" Minhyun smiled at his son, wwaiting for his son to unwrap the box. 

Jinyoung slowly started to tear the wrapping paper off of the box and he gasped again when he realized what the present was. It was a brand-new guitar that was similar to Jaehwan's own guitar. Jinyoung looked back and forth between the new guitar and Jaehwan before rushing over to hug the young man. Jaehwan was frozen in his spot when he felt Jinyoung hug him so tightly, but he soon relaxed and hugged the child back. 

"Thank you so much, Jaehwan hyung! I'll be able to play songs for you soon!" Jinyoung exclaimed, still hugging Jaehwan. 

"See? I told you he would like the present." Minhyun said, smiling at the sight of his boyfriend and his son. He then passed Jinyoung the smaller box, which was his own present.

"Alright, here's your gift from me." 

Jinyoung took the box from his father and opened it quickly. He grinned widely when he saw what his father had given him. It was a new gaming console that has appeared on TV a few weeks ago. Jinyoung hadn't told his father that it looked interesting to him, but his father still got it for him anyway.

"Thank you dad! I'll make sure I only play after I finish my homework every day." Jinyoung said, causing his father to laugh. Minhyun reached over and pat his son's head, feeling amused about what he had just said. 

He was glad his son's birthday was successful. He only hoped Jaehwan's birthday was going to be just as successful.

-

"Happy 27th birthday!"

Jaehwan groaned as loud yelling woke him up from his deep slumber. He opened his eyes and saw both Minhyun and Jinyoung staring at him with wide smiles on their faces. 

"Please don’t tell me you woke me up at midnight to greet me." Jaehwan yawned, rubbing his eyes sleepily as he sat up in bed.

"Do you really think I would let Baejin stay awake until midnight?" Minhyun scoffed and Jinyoung just laughed. 

"Happy birthday, Jaehwan hyung! Now you're the same age as dad!" Jinyoung exclaimed as he jumped onto the bed. Minhyun sighed, letting his son do what he wanted.

"We're the same age now for three months! Do I still have to call you hyung?" Jaehwan asked, grinning over at his boyfriend.

"Sometimes you forget to call me hyung anyway, so there's not really going to be a difference." Minhyun said, taking a seat at the foot of the bed. He then glanced at the clock before turning back to his son, "Baejin, you need to start getting ready for school."

Jinyoung groaned and stop jumping on the bed, "Alright, I'll go get changed." The young boy carefuly climbed off the bed, leaving the room with hurried steps. 

"You need to get dressed too." Minhyun continued on, staring at his boyfriend. Jaehwan let out a whine and hid underneath the bedsheets. He wasn't quite ready to get out of bed yet. 

"Come on, Jaehwan." Minhyun walked over to Jaehwan's side of the bed and tugged on the sheets, revealing Jaehwan's sleepy face. He leaned in and quickly pecked his boyfriend's lips, causing Jaehwan to smile a bit. Minhyun kissed his lips once more, trying to get him out of bed. 

"Where are we going?" Jaehwan said as Minhyun pulled him out of bed.

"We're going to take Jinyoung to school and then we're going out for a surprise." 

Jaehwan sighed, knowing that it was impossible to convince Minhyun to let him go back to sleep. He had asked for the day off from cafe and Minhyun had done the same at the hospital. Unfortunately, Jaehwan's birthday fell on a weekday, which meant Jinyoung still had to go to school.

Jaehwan dressed himself in some casual clothing before leaving the room. In the kitchen, Jinyoung was eating some fruit with his father. As soon as Jaehwan entered the room, Jinyoung ran over to give him a hug. Ever since Jinyoung's birthday, the young boy had grown into the habit of hugging and clinging onto Jaehwan, but he didn't mind at all. In fact, he was glad the younger boy had become so comfortable with him. At first he was worried about Jinyoung being shy, but his worries quickly faded away after a few days. 

"Happy birthday, again." Jinyoung smiled cheekily at Jaehwan before running back over to his father, who was holding onto Jinyoung's bowl of fruit. The young boy finished the last remaining piece of fruit before putting his backpack on. It was time to go to school. 

"We'll go out for brunch after we bring Baejin to school." Minhyun said as he pressed a kiss on Jaehwan's temple. Minhyun was being more touchy than usual, which made Jaehwan suspicious. He could feel that something was up.

Bringing Jinyoung to school was completely normal now. It had become such an important part of Jaehwan's routine that he felt a bit worried about what would happen when Jinyoung would have to leave. The young boy had become a part of Jaehwan's life that he wasn't ready to let go of yet. 

"Hey, happy birthday Jaehwan!" Seongwoo greeted when the couple came to drop off Jinyoung. Minhyun took the clipboard from the teacher and signed his name next to Jinyoung's. 

"Thank you, Seongwoo hyung. It's nice to be another year older." Jaehwan grinned, waving goodbye to Jinyoung as he walked into the classroom. 

Minhyun and Jaehwan bid Seongwoo goodbye as well before leaving the elementary school. It was a nice day in Seoul and the weather was perfect for being outside. The young couple walked hand-in-hand to a local restaurant. When they were seated at their table, Jaehwan took a closer look at the menu, trying to figure out why it was so familiar.

"Didn't you take me here on our first date?" Jaehwan said after thinking for a few moments. Minhyun smiled from across the table and nodded his head. The interior of the restaurant had changed a bit, but everything was still generally the same. 

"I'm glad you still remember. We haven't been here in three years." Minhyun said, thinking back to their first date. It wasn't that the restaurant was bad, but rather the couple just never found time to come back.  Their first date had went well and it eventually led to a second date nearly a week afterwards. 

Even though they didn't mean to, Minhyun and Jaehwan ordered the exact same thing they did on their first date. 

The couple had a nice brunch, talking about things they normally couldn't because of Jinyoung being around. They gossiped a little about their own friends and talked about what would happen when Jaehwan returned to performing. He had decided on doing at least one show a month, however the locations weren't decided yet. Minhyun would miss him, but he wanted Jaehwan to pursue his dreams. He would also try his best to accompany Jaehwan during his shows. 

After brunch, Minhyun and Jaehwan walked around their own neighborhood. There was a small park behind their apartment building and Jaehwan wanted to sit on the swings for a bit. Swings were always Jaehwan's favorite part of parks. 

"How does being one year older feel?" Minhyun said as he gently pushed his boyfriend on the swing. Jaehwan rocked back and forth, propelling himself forward.

"I feel the same as always. Turning 27 isn't that big of a deal for me, I guess." Jaehwan replied with a shrug. Minhyun carefully reached out and grabbed the chain of the swing, making his boyfriend sit still on the seat. 

"Hyung?"

Jaehwan stared as Minhyun came around the swing to face him. The young doctor just smiled before kissing Jaehwan's cheek softly. 

"Promise me you won't cry, okay?" Minhyun said as he slowly started to get down on one knee. Jaehwan stared at his boyfriend for a moment before gasping loudly. 

"We've talked about marriage before, but we never took that last step... But after being with you for three years and seeing how much Jinyoung loves you, I don't think I can wait much longer. Kim Jaehwan, will you marry me?" Minhyun said, taking out small box from his pocket. He opened the box and showed Jaehwan a silver ring. It was a simple ring, but it meant so much more than just that to Jaehwan.

Minhyun had first mentioned marriage on their second anniversary, but Jaehwan was skittish and avoided the topic altogether. At the time, he hadn't met Jinyoung met and that was the main reason for why Jaehwan was so hesitant. However, on the same night, after a few alcoholic drinks, Jaehwan had let it slip that he would marry Minhyun in a heartbeat. 

Minhyun never forgot that.

So occasionally, Minhyun would bring up the topic of marriage again, just to see if Jaehwan's opinion had changed. It never did. 

And his opinion was still the same now, even after a year.

"Of course I'll marry you!" Jaehwan exclaimed, falling from the swing seat into Minhyun's arms. The two fell to the ground, but Jaehwan didn't mind at all. He wrapped his arms around his boyfriend, now fiancé, and cried. He was extremely emotional, but that was only because he loved Minhyun so much.

"Wait, you need to look at the ring. Baejin helped me design it for you." Minhyun said, sitting up with Jaehwan still in his arms. Jaehwan wiped a few tears away from his eyes before looking at the ring. 

The silver ring was smooth on the outside, but Jaehwan took a closer look and he smiled immediately when he saw what was engraved on the inside. 

Inside, there were a series of numbers. 

The first number was the date when they first met at the café. The second number was the date of when they had their actual first date. The next date was the day Minhyun asked Jaehwan to move in with him. The final date, was Jaehwan's 27th birthday, the day Minhyun proposed.

They were all very important dates to both Minhyun and Jaehwan. 

Tears started to form in Jaehwan's eyes again and he tried his best to keep them away. Minhyun smiled and kissed Jaehwan's lips, distracting the young man from the tears that were ready to fall.  They typically weren't so touchy in public, but this was a special exception. 

"Happy birthday, my love." Minhyun whispered as he pulled away from Jaehwan. He smiled at Jaehwan's tear filled eyes before chuckling a bit. Jaehwan was a crybaby.

"Thank you, Minhyun hyung. I love you." 

"I love you too."

Many things changed for Minhyun, in spring. His son turned eleven and although the number wasn't important, it was the first birthday Jinyoung had celebrated in Seoul. It was going to be an important birthday for the young boy and his father.

Also, in spring, Minhyun successfully proposed to the love of his life and that was a major life milestone for him. He couldn't wait to marry Jaehwan. 

Minhyun had only pleasant memories of spring, but the end of spring meant Jinyoung was leaving soon. 

He had three months left.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> can u hear the wedding bells : ^ )


	8. chapter seven.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> summer. part one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> happy new year!!! 
> 
> a lot of people seem interested in a sequel! it'll be out soon enough ; )

Summer was brutal in Seoul. The populated city seemed a lot hotter than Jinyoung's hometown, Busan. He was lucky his father had an air conditioned apartment though. His mother's house didn't have an air conditioner. 

"Do you want to go to the beach tomorrow with your friends?" Jaehwan asked, staring at the young boy that was laying on the couch, watching TV. School had ended two days ago and it was now the beginning of June. "I can call their parents to ask if they can come."

Jaehwan didn't want Jinyoung to waste his time moping around in the apartment during his last two months. 

"Sure! Doesn't dad have work tomorrow?" Jinyoung asked, sitting up. The eleven year old was feeling pretty bored at home. He needed something to do. 

"Yeah, he does. I'll ask Daniel and Seongwoo if they want to come with us. I don't think I'd be able to watch all of you guys by myself." Jaehwan replied as he took his phone out. He quickly sent a text to Seongwoo, knowing it would be shown to Daniel as well. 

"Jaehwan hyung, when you and dad get married, what should I call you?" Jinyoung asked as he stood up and walked over to Jaehwan, who  was busy on his phone. Jinyoung stared at the ring on Jaehwan's left ring finger. The couple had just started to plan their wedding, but it wasn't going to happen until early next year. His father and Jaehwan wanted to save up enough money to have a small wedding with just their closest friends and relatives. 

Jinyoung asked the couple if his mother would be invited. Jaehwan hadn't met her yet, but he agreed to inviting his mother. 

"You can still call me what you call me now. It's up to you." Jaehwan replied, smiling down at the young boy. "I don't mind whatever you decide on."

Jinyoung smiled back at Jaehwan before giving him him a tight hug. He was happy his father had met such a nice person. 

"Anyways, I sent a text to Jihoon's mom and she said she'd bring Jihoon over tomorrow morning. Guanlin is going to meet us at the beach with Samuel. I'll let you know what Daehwi's mom says as soon as she replies." Jaehwan said as he pat the Jinyoung's head. The boy was still clinging onto him. 

Jinyoung's smile widened when he heard his friends were going to come to the beach with him, "But how are we going to get to the beach? Dad's car isn't big enough."

His father actually owned a car, but because he lived close enough to the hospital and other important places, he didn't use the car that often. His father's car definitely wasn't bug enough for him and all his friends. 

"Seongwoo hyung has a van. We can use that for you and the other kids." Jaehwan said, reminding Jinyoung about the van that was used to bring him from Busan to Seoul. Jinyoung frowned a bit, remembering that that he would be leaving Seoul soon. 

"...Did dad say what day I would be going back to Busan?" Jinyoung asked quietly as he pulled away from Jaehwan. 

"We're taking you there during the second week of August." Jaehwan said, feeling a bit sad for the young boy. He didn't want to make Jinyoung sad, but he knew that he needed it know. "You'll still be able to visit us though, and your dad is still going to visit you every month."

Jinyoung nodded his head, listening to what his father's fiancée was saying. He was more worried about his friends though. He didn't want to say goodbye to them just yet. 

-

"Lai Guanlin! Stop running! Samuel, put your slippers back on!" 

Seongwoo sighed, watching his former students run off in front of him. Daniel was right behind him, carrying a giant umbrella and a cooler. Jaehwan was behind them as well, holding Jinyoung's hand and a big duffle bag. 

"They aren't going to listen to you anymore. You're not their teacher." Daniel laughed,  watching as his boyfriend let out a huge sigh. 

They were at the beach and luckily it was a nice day outside. There weren't that many people at the beach as well. Seongwoo and Daniel were both free on the day that Jaehwan had chosen to go to the beach, so they came along to help. 

"It's too bad Minhyun hyung had work today, but he's allergic to the water, isn't he?" Seongwoo said, turning back to Jaehwan.

"He's not allergic to the water, but he's allergic to the salt. He gets rashes if he goes into the ocean." Jaehwan explained, thinking of his fiancee. Minhyun's allergy to salt was a bit unusual, but Jaehwan never thought anything of it. However, he usually cooked with less salt, just in case. 

Samuel and Guanlin had run ahead of the group, leaving Jihoon and Daehwi to catch up. Jinyoung knew better than to run ahead of the adults though.

"Hurry up Jinyoung! You're walking slow." Jihoon called out as he waited for Jinyoung to catch up.  Daniel and Seongwoo found an empty spot on the beach and had settled their things on the spot. Daniel placed the giant umbrella into the sand and opened it up, creating shade. Seongwoo had a bag of towels ready to be placed on the sand for everyone to sit on.

"Everyone needs to put on sunscreen before you go out to the water." Seongwoo said as he handed Jihoon a bottle of sunscreen. Jaehwan did the same, handing Jinyoung another bottle of sunscreen.

"Don't go into deep water, okay? Make sure you guys stick together." Daniel said to the children as he helped Samuel put some sunscreen on. He normally didn't spend that much time with kids, but having a boyfriend that was a teacher was definitely changing that. 

"I don't know how to swim..." Daehwi mumbled to his former teacher. Seongwoo smiled and pat the young boy's hair, trying to calm his nerves. 

"Just stick close with your friends and things should be fine." Jaehwan replied, gently pushing Jinyoung forward to his friends. The group of boys then ran off towards the ocean, leaving the adults alone by the umbrella.

Jaehwan was dressed in swimming trunks, but he was only going to go in the water if there was an emergency. Daniel and Seongwoo were going to be the ones to play with the kids instead. Daniel and Seongwoo watched the children from afar, both smiling at the sight. Jihoon kept trying to splash Jinyoung, however Guanlin was blocking his way. Daehwi was standing still, feeling a bit unsure of the water. Samuel was standing next to him, gently splashing him with water. 

"Should we throw the kids in the water?" Daniel grinned, but Jaehwan and Seongwoo immediately voiced out their protests.

"Daniel!"

"Don't do anything to scare them!"

Daniel sighed and stared at Jaehwan for a moment, "You're turning into a such a parent. Before, you would totally want to join me in trying to scare kids." 

Jaehwan just smiled and he took his phone out instead to take pictures of the kids. Daniel had a very valid point. Before meeting Jinyoung, Jaehwan was fond of messing around with people and playing tricks, almost to the point of being annoying. However, he realized that he needed to mature if he wanted to be a parent. He and Minhyun were serious about raising their own child, so living with Jinyoung was a wake up call for Jaehwan. 

He was going to be a father and he needed to change.

"He's going to be a married man. You can't blame Jaehwan for changing." Seongwoo smiled at his friend before making his way over to the kids. He lifted Guanlin and Daehwi onto his shoulders and spun them around. Daniel joined them shortly afterwards.

-

Jinyoung knew how to swim. His mother had taught him when he was a young child, but he only knew enough to not drown. He could float pretty well though. 

"Uncle Daniel! Don't drop me!" Jinyoung exclaimed as Daniel lifted him into his arms. Despite getting yelled at by both Seongwoo and Jaehwan, Daniel was still messing around with the kids and throwing them into the water.  

Everyone except for Daehwi, who was near tears when Daniel initially tried to throw him into the water.

"Throw him! Throw him far!" Jihoon chanted from the sand. He was soaking wet because of Daniel and he wanted everyone else to go through the same thing he did. 

"Don't throw him too far! Minhyun will kill you!" Seongwoo yelled from his spot under the umbrella. Jaehwan had stepped away for a moment with Guanlin, because he needed to use the restroom. 

Daniel grinned and he counted slowly to three, before throwing Jinyoung into the water. The young boy yelled as he was thrown, but he safely landed in the water. He was smiling widely as he emerged from the ocean.

He was having so much fun, he nearly missed the sight of his father approaching on the beach. 

"Dad!" 

Jinyoung rushed out of the water in the direction of his father. Minhyun was wearing casual clothes, which was a change compared to what Jinyoung had seen him wearing earlier. He assumed his father had come right after work.

"Don't hug me, you're all wet!" Minhyun laughed and moved aside when his son tried to hug him. He didn't want to get wet. 

"What are you doing here? Jaehwan hyung said you had work today." Jinyoung said, smiling up at his father. He grabbed onto his hand and pulled him over to the umbrella, where Seongwoo was still sitting.

"I asked Jisung hyung if I could leave early. He said it was alright." The young doctor said as he took a seat on the towel under the umbrella. Moments later, Jaehwan returned with Guanlin, who quickly ran back over to the water with Jinyoung.

Minhyun pressed a kiss to Jaehwan's temple as a greeting and the younger man blushed before giving him a hug. Daniel and Seongwoo both let out simultaneous coos at the couple.

"You guys are sickeningly cute." Seongwoo said as he stood up from his seat to stand next to Daniel.

"We're not as bad as you and Daniel." Jaehwan said, defending Minhyun and himself. Seongwoo and Daniel were much worse, especially when they were indoors. The only reason Daniel was composed right now was because they were in public and in front of children. 

"He has a point there, Seongwoo." Daniel grinned and gently smacked his boyfriend's butt before running away, back towards the water. The teacher's ears turned red and he started running after his childish boyfriend.

Minhyun smiled at the sight of his friends running around before glancing over where his son was playing. The boys were all splashing each other with water and Jinyoung looked as if he was having the time of his life. Minhyun had never seen him that happy before.

"I don’t want him to leave..." Jaehwan said softly, staring over in Jinyoung's direction as well.

Minhyun sighed and pressed another kiss to Jaehwan's temple, "I know, but he needs to. Busan is his home. His mother needs him in her life because he's all she has." 

Jaehwan sighed a bit, but he nodded his head. He and Minhyun had discussed this situation many times already and he knew that Jinyoung really had no choice. He had to return to Busan. 

-

For dinner, Jaehwan had suggested that the entire group have a barbeque at a local tourist spot. There was a restaurant at the tourist spot, so they were able to cook their own food at the barbeque. 

"Don't burn yourselves, okay? If you need any help, just ask one of us to help you." Minhyun said as he started up the grill. The table was a circle and it was big enough to fit the four adults and five children. Jinyoung was sitting in between Jaehwan and his father.

"Is this going to be the last time we get to see Jinyoung?" Samuel asked with a frown on his face. He was worried about saying goodbye to his friend.

"No, no. Don't worry about that yet. Jinyoung will be leaving in August, so there's about two months left. We'll plan more things for us to do." Minhyun replied, smiling at Samuel before he started to pass around some meat for everyone to cook.

It was going to be hard eating when there were five children to take care of, but Minhyun didn't mind. He liked spending time with his son's friends because they were all good kids. He hoped Jinyoung kept in touch with them after he returned home. He felt as if their friendship had the potential to last a lifetime. 

"Are all of your going to the same middle school?" Jinyoung asked, looking towards his friends. He already knew the answer, but he just felt like asking again. "Is it the middle school near the elementary school?" 

Daehwi nodded his head, "I think we're all going to that school. It's the closest one to where I live." 

The other children all nodded as well and Jinyoung smiled at them. He was happy his friends would stick together.

"I'm going to miss having you guys in my class. It's too bad I can't teach at the middle school next year." Seongwoo said from beside Guanlin, who was strugling to grill his own food. The teacher helped his former student with a smile on his face.

"But didn't you get promoted? Or there was another job opening, right?" Jaehwan said. He remembered hearing Seongwoo talking about it earlier during the day. 

"I got promoted, I guess. I was asked to teach at the Seoul Academy that's on the other side of town." Seongwoo said and Jihoon stood up from his seat with a surprised look on his face.

"That's the high school my mom wants me to go to! She said it was hard to get accepted though, so I have to get good grades in middle school." Jihoon scrunched his nose up, feeling a bit upset over his mother's choice of high school. It was years away, but he was already nervous about it.

Seongwoo smiled at his student, "Jihoon, if you keep up the good work, I'm sure you'll get into the school. I'll be waiting for all of you there! Even you, Jinyoung." 

Jinyoung blinked, feeling confused about why his former teacher had said that. He turned to his father, who just smiled at the young boy. 

Jinyoung was always welcome back in Seoul. 

He had a home in Seoul.


	9. chapter eight.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> summer. part two. final.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the end is here... i'd like to thanks everyone that's read this fic! it wasn't that interesting, but i've gotten some lovely feedback that makes me happy : ) 
> 
> enjoy the last chapter!  
> dont forget to read the notes at the end : )

It was late-July when Jinyoung had invited his friends over for another sleepover. Guanlin was going to return to Taiwan for a few weeks, so this would be the last time their entire group of friends would be able to get together. Jaehwan had even built a fort in the living room once more, just so that the kids could have come privacy. 

"Just knock on our door if you need anything." Jinyoung's father said as he passed by the fort. Samuel popped his head out of the fort and waved at the young doctor before Jinyoung's head also popped his head out.

"Goodnight dad! Say goodnight to Jaehwan too for me." Jinyoung smiled happily at his father before climbing back into the fort with Samuel. 

"Why do you have to go back to Taiwan, Guanlin? I thought you were going to middle school with us!" Daehwi said, throwing some popcorn in the other boy's direction. Guanlin tried to catch the popcorn in his mouth, but sadly he missed each piece.

"I'll be back by the time school starts! My dad has some business thing to do and he wants the family to go with him." Guanlin said, defending himself. Daehwi's only reply was more popcorn thrown over in his direction. 

"When are you leaving again, Jinyoung?" Jihoon asked as he stole some popcorn from Daehwi. He was laying on the floor with his head on Daehwi's legs.

"In like two weeks, I think." Jinyoung replied, thinking to what his father had told him earlier in the day. They were going to borrow Seongwoo's van, just like when Jinyoung moved to Seoul. This time, Jaehwan was going to come with them which meant that Jaehwan would be meeting Jinyoung's mother for the first time.

Jinyoung hoped things weren't going to be awkward between them.

"That means we only have two weeks left to see each other! Are you ever going to visit Seoul again?" Samuel asked. He was worried about not being able to see Jinyoung again.

"I have to ask my parents about that, but I think they'll let me visit a few times." Jinyoung replied. He still hadn't asked his father about visiting Seoul again, but he already knew that his father was going to visit him in Busan. 

"You definitely need to come back on my birthday, okay? It doesn't have to be this year, but maybe next year! Or even the year after that..." Jihoon mumbled, staring at Jinyoung for a moment before turning his attention back to the bowl of popcorn Daehwi was holding.

"Or maybe you can visit during the next summer vacation! I wonder if my parents will let me visit you in Busan... Where's Busan anyway?" Guanlin said and everyone laughed when he asked where Busan was located. "I'm serious! I don't know where Busan is!" 

"It takes a long time to get there if it's a car ride, Guanlin. It's kind of far." Jinyoung said, still laughing at what the young Taiwanese boy had said. Guanlin pouted and threw some popcorn at Jinyoung.

"We had a lot of fun while you were here, didn't we?" Daehwi said, smiling at Jinyoung, thinking back to all of the fun they had with Jinyoung. He was happy to have met Jinyoung and he wasn’t sure how middle school would be without him. 

"Yeah, I had a lot more fun here than in Busan. Maybe it's because you guys are all so loud and fun." Jinyoung grinned, but his friends all let out groans of protests. They didn't agree with him at all.

"We're not loud!" Jihoon yelled, causing Jinyoung to throw a pillow at him. 

"Stop yelling! My dad and Jaehwan hyung are trying to sleep!" Jinyoung whispered, trying to shush is friend. Jihoon laughed and threw the pillow back at him with a grin.

"What was it like living with your dad for almost a year?" Samuel asked. Jinyoung paused for a moment, thinking of what quite exactly to say. At first, Jinyoung was a bit nervous about being away from his mother and grandparents for so long. He lived his entire life in Busan and that was all he had ever really known.

However, thanks to his friends and everyone else met in Seoul, Jinyoung was able to enjoy himself and adjust to life. It was almost like he had lived in Seoul his entire life and that he was raised with his friends. He knew all about the area of Seoul that his father lived in and if allowed, he could even walk around by himself (though he knew his father would never let him do that). 

He wanted to stay in Seoul, but he knew his rightful place was in Busan, beside his mother. He was all she had. 

"Living with my dad was fun, but I really missed my mom. I'm excited to see her again." Jinyoung said softly, smiling at Samuel. 

"I know this is a personal question, but I've always wondered... What's it like having a mom and dad that aren't married?" Jihoon asked, being as straightforward as ever. He didn't want to seem rude, but he just had to ask. He had been curious about Jinyoung's family ever since he revealed that his parents weren't married. 

Jinyoung just shrugged, "I never really thought it was strange. My parents get along and stuff, but they aren't in love or anything like that. I don't think my mom struggled when raising me because my grandparents always helped her out."

"But didn't it feel strange not being able to see your dad all the time?" Guanlin asked, thinking about the doctor. 

"A little bit, but my dad would visit me like twice a month. He tried his best to spend a lot of time with me." Jinyoung replied, shrugging once more. He knew his family was unusual, but it never bothered him at all. 

He loved his family, regardless of how different they seemed. His parents made him happy and they always did their best to take care of him.

"I can't believe we're not going to the same middle school... Maybe we should just run away to Busan with Jinyoung!" Jihoon suggested, but everyone rolled their eyes. They all knew Jihoon was just kidding.

"We can still talk to each other, right? We can call! Then maybe we'll be able to get our own cellphones one day." Daehwi said, getting excited over the idea of having his own cellphone. He had asked his mother about getting a cellphone, but she hadn't said yes yet to him.

"I'm getting a cellphone when I start high school, what about you guys?" Guanlin asked. He looked around at his friends, waiting for their responses. 

"My mom said I'm too young now, so I'll probably get a cellphone in high school too."

"I'm getting one in high school too!"

"I think I'm getting one when I turn thirteen."

"Me too, my parents said I can have a phone when turn thirteen."

Jinyoung smiled at his friends before yawning softly, causing them to stare at him in shock. It wasn't even that late yet, but the young boy was already tired. Daehwi threw a pillow in Jinyoung's face, trying to keep him awake.

"You're not allowed to fall asleep yet! We're having a pillow fight!" Jihoon exclaimed, throwing a pillow at Jinyoung as well. 

Everyone quickly defended themselves with a pillow, getting ready for the pillow fight that was about to happen. Jinyoung grinned and readied himself with his own pillow before smacking Guanlin in the stomach. The children all cheered before hitting each other with the pillows as well.

Jinyoung knew it was going to be their last time all together for a long time, but he was thankful his friends were just being themselves. 

He was going to miss them a lot. 

He was going to miss  _Seoul_ a lot.

-

"Baejin, I know you don't want to pack your things right now, but I need you to get off me so that I can start making lunch."

Jaehwan smiled at the young boy that was laying on top of him. They were laying on the couch, watching  TV together. Jinyoung had started clinging on him a few days ago and he even slept in between Jaehwan and Minhyun last night. The adults didn't mind, but they did think it was pretty cute.

"I don't want to move. I'm sleepy." Jinyoung mumbled, still laying on top of Jaehwan. 

"Minhyun hyung! Your son won't get off me!" Jaehwan called and the young doctor soon appeared by the couch as well.

"Aw, you guys look cute. Let me take a picture!" Minhyun smiled and took his phone out to take a picture of his fiancée and son. Jinyoung smiled in the direction of the camera and Jaehwan tried his best to keep his expression neutral. 

After taking the picture, Minhyun carefully lay himself on top of his son, causing both Jaehwan and Jinyoung to complain. There was no way Jinyoung could handle the weight of his father and Jaehwan definitely could not handle the weight of both Minhyun and Jinyoung. 

"Get off! I can't breathe!" Jaehwan exclaimed, trying to get Minhyun off of Jinyoung. The young boy laughed at Jaehwan before trying to push his father away as well.

Minhyun chuckled and got off of the couch, picking up his son as well. He held Jinyoung in his arms and kissed his son's forehead softly. 

"You need to hurry and pack your things, Baejin. We're driving to Busan next week already." Minhyun said and his son just frowned. 

"Dad, I don't want to leave. I want to stay here with you and Jaehwan hyung!" Jinyoung said with tears already forming in his eyes. Minhyun sighed and took a seat on the couch, letting Jinyoung sit on his lap. Jaehwan sat up and took his place next to Minhyun, smiling sadly at the young boy.

"We're talked about this before, Jinyoung. You have to go back to your mother." Minhyun said softly, as he gently pat his son's cheek. Jinyoung rarely got emotional, but it was evident to see that he really wanted to stay in Seoul. "I know It's going to be hard."

"I don't want to leave though! I'm going to miss all my friends here..." Jinyoung mumbled sadly. Jaehwan reached over and gently pat the young boy's head, trying to calm him down before more tears would fall.

"We're going to miss you too, but your mom needs you with her." Jaehwan said, staring at Jinyoung with a sad smile. He didn't want Jinyoung to leave as well. Life would be completely different without the young boy with them.

"You can always visit us here whenever you have a break from school. Jaehwan and I can even go visit you in Busan whenever we have free time." Minhyun said, reassuring his son as best as he could. 

"Do you promise to visit me? I want Jaehwan to visit me too!" Jinyoung said, looking back and forth between his father and Jaehwan. They both smiled at him before nodding their heads. 

"And I can come visit during vacation, right?" Jinyoung continued on, moving off of Minhyun's lap and onto Jaehwan's. Jaehwan smiled at the boy and cupped his cheeks, squishing them together. 

"Of course you can. There's always going to be a place for you here with us." Jaehwan said, watching as Jinyoung smiled widely at him. His expression brightened immediately when he was told he could come back whenever he had time.

"Make sure you take care of your mother when she gets back! She's probably going to be working a lot more, so I want you to make sure she eats enough and gets a lot of rest." Minhyun said as he gently pat Jinyoung's hair. The young smiled at his father before getting off of Jaehwan's lap. 

"I'm gonna go pack some stuff! I'll be right back!" Jinyoung said as he ran towards his room. Minhyun chuckled and lay back on the couch, pulling Jaehwan to lay next to him. The couple was silent together, just listening to the sound of their own breathing. 

Minhyun ran his hand lazily through Jaehwan's hair before starting to hum a random song he had heard earlier in the day. Jaehwan chuckled a bit before kissing Minhyun's cheek.

"Does he really have to go? It's going to feel strange without him here." Jaehwan said softly as he sat up to look at Minhyun properly. Minhyun simply pulled him back down into his arms, hugging him tightly.

"Why aren't you saying anything?" Jaehwan whined, trying to escape Minhyun's hold. The young doctor said nothing and only continued to hold Jaehwan close to him. 

Jaehwan knew that it was hard for Minhyun to admit his feelings about his son leaving. He didn't want Jinyoung to leave as well, but he had to be strong in front of his son. It was clear to see that Minhyun had changed due to his son living with him. He became brighter and more energetic, which made Jaehwan extremely happy. It's not that Minhyun was gloomy to begin with, but there was definitely something that clicked in Minhyun when his son moved in. 

"I don't want him to go... But I know he has to." Minhyun said softly before kissing the top of Jaehwan's head. 

"We can start planning our visits to Busan and let's try to figure out when he has a vacation during school, because then we can bring him to Seoul for a few days." Jaehwan said, reminding Minhyun of what he had said earlier. Minhyun smiled and nodded his head, pleased with Jaehwan's answer. 

"I'm going to go help him pack some things. Can you get started on making lunch?"

"Okay, I'll make Baejin's favorite food for lunch." 

Jaehwan smiled and got off of the couch before pulling Minhyun off of the couch as well. Minhyun gently pat Jaehwan's head before walking over to his son's room to help him pack. 

Things were definitely going to be different without Jinyoung's presence in the apartment. Jaehwan wasn't exactly sure how to feel about all of the changes that would be happening without Jinyoung around. 

At first, Jaehwan was scared and nervous about having Minhyun's son living with them. He was worried about what Jinyoung would think of him and how he would act around him. However, Jinyoung had opened up to Jaehwan faster than he had originally expected. The young boy was always polite around Jaehwan in the beginning, but it didn't take long for the two to become close and comfortable around one another. Jaehwan was thankful for Jinyoung's willingness to get to know him. He knew it must have been strange for the child, meeting his father's boyfriend, but Jinyoung had an open mind about the entire situation, which was a bit unusual for a ten-year-old-boy. Jaehwan assumed Jinyoung's open mind came from his equally unusual family situation. 

Jaehwan was sure Jinyoung was going to grow up to be a good kid.

-

One week later, Jinyoung found himself in the back seat of his Uncle Seongwoo's van. It was a long drive to Busan, but he was asleep for most of it. His father was driving the van with Seongwoo in the front passenger seat. Jaehwan was sitting next to Jinyoung, with a box of the boy's things on his lap.

"Are we there yet? I can't feel my thighs." Jaehwan complained. The box on his lap was heavy and there wasn't much space in the van to move around.

"O is it because Minhyun hyu- Ow!" Seongwoo pouted at the driver of the car after getting pinched. Minhyun glanced at the teacher and simply said, "Jinyoung's still in the car."

Jinyoung laughed at the face his former teacher was making before looking out of the window. They were finally in Busan, but it was going to take a few more minutes until he reached his mother's home. He stared out the window, recalling the place where he grew up. There were familiar buildings and stores all around him, but for some reason, something felt strange about it. Jinyoung felt as if he was in a new place, despite knowing everything about Busan. 

It hadn't been a full year, but Jinyoung had already forgotten his home.

He felt guilty about wanting to stay in Seoul. He wondered if that was how his father felt when he left Busan to go to school in Seoul. Did he ever want to move back? Or did the city of Seoul become his home? Did his father hate having to come back to Busan just to see his son? 

Jinyoung wanted to ask his father all of these questions, but now was not the time. 

He was a bit nervous about meeting his mother again. They had talked to each other almost every day, but it had been a while since he had seen what she looked like. Her hair had gotten longer since she left and Jinyoung knew that she now spoke English almost fluently. Jinyoung wasn't sure if anything else had changed since the last time he saw her.

"Daniel told me that he has a bunch of performances lined up next month here in Busan. Is he going to be living here for them?" Jaehwan said, directing his question over to Seongwoo. The teacher sighed and nodded his head, turning back to reply to Jaehwan.

"Yeah, he'll be here again next month. He's not sure when he'll be able to return to Seoul though. Jinyoung, if you and your mom ever get the chance, maybe you should see one of his shows." Seongwoo said, smiling at his former student. Jinyoung nodded his head and smiled back at his teacher. "Only if Uncle Daniel gives me free tickets!" 

Everyone in the can laughed and before Jinyoung knew it, they had arrived at his mother's home. Jinyoung looked over to Jaehwan and he looked extremely nervous. It was quite obvious Jaehwan was worried about meeting Jinyoung's mother.

"My mom won't hurt you or anything." Jinyoung said as he took off his seat belt. Jaehwan just smiled before taking off his seat belt as well to get out of the car. 

"Where's my baby?" A voice called, saying 'baby' in English. Just as Jinyoung stepped out of the car, someone rushed over to hug him. He smiled brightly and looked up at who was holding him.

"Mom!" 

"Jinyoung! I missed you so much!" 

Minhyun smiled at the sight of Jinyoung and his mother. He felt Jaehwan's presense behind him and he carefully grabbed his fiancee's arm, pushing him in front of him. Jaehwan glared at Minhyun for a moment when he realized Minhyun was trying to introduce Jaehwan to Jinyoung's mother. 

"Thank you so much, Minhyun. I really owe you." Jinyoung's mother said, smiling with Jinyoung still in her arms. She blinked in surprise when she caught sight of Jaehwan, but her smile widened even more. 

"You must be Jaehwan! It's nice to meet you. Thank you so much for taking care of Jinyoung while I was away." Jinyoung's mother smiled and bowed politely to Jaehwan, who bowed back as well. He smiled a bit, shaking his head to say that it was no trouble.

"It was nice to finally meet Jinyoung. He's welcome back in Seoul whenever he wants." Jaehwan said softly and Jinyoung's mother nodded and she released Jinyoung from her hold to get a better look of him. 

"And before you ask, yes he got a haircut when he was in Seoul." Minhyun said as he walked passed everyone. He and Seongwoo had started to unload the van of Jinyoung's things.

"You look so big now. I can't believe you're already eleven!" Jinyoung's mother exclaimed, pulling the boy into another hug. The young boy groaned but did nothing to stop his mother from hugging him.

"I said this once and I'll say it again, Jinyoung seriously looks exactly like his mother." Seongwoo said, smiling at the sight of Jinyoung and his mother. 

"Are you trying to saw Jinyoung looks like a woman in her twenties or that his mother looks like an eleven year old boy?" Jaehwan said as he handed Seongwoo a box to carry. Minhyun laughed and gently nudged Jaehwan's hip. Seongwoo rolled his eyes and took the box from Jaehwan, carrying it into the garage. 

It took about an hour to get Jinyoung's things organized in his mother's house. Minhyun had insisted that he, Seongwoo, and Jaehwan be the ones to fix everything. He wanted Jinyoung to spend some time with his mother, since they were separated for so long.

"Are you ready to say goodbye?" Jaehwan said as he set the last box in Jinyoung's room. Minhyun frowned and nodded his head. He took once last look around his son's room, counting the boxes to make sure they hadn't forgotten anything. "Alright, it looks like it's time to go."

Minhyun, Jaehwan, and Seongwoo all left Jinyoung's room and they made their way over to the kitchen, where Jinyoung was with his mother. They were eating a snack together and were talking about all of the people they had met when they were apart.

"Alright Baejin, everything is in your room now. We have to get going now so that we don't get back to Seoul too late." Minhyun said, approaching his son. Jinyoung immediately got out of his seat and he ran to hug his father. 

"You'll be back next month, right? With Jaehwan hyung too?" Jinyoung said, looking up at his father. Minhyun nodded and kneeled down in front of his son, cupping his cheeks. 

"Of course. I'll see you every two weeks, just like before." Minhyun replied, kissing his son's forehead. Jaehwan smiled from behind Minhyun and stepped forward to pat the boy's head. "I'll try to visit as often as I can too. I'll let you know if I ever have a show in Busan." 

Jinyoung smiled at Jaehwan before turning to his former teacher. Much to his surprise, Seongwoo had tears in his eyes. Jaehwan and Minhyun just laughed at the teacher's sudden emotional appearance. 

"You definitely were one of my favorite students. It's going to be strange not seeing your face every day." Seongwoo mumbled, wiping his eyes. Jinyoung's mother handed him a tissue and he gratefully took it from her. 

"I hope you have fun at your new job, Uncle Seongwoo." Jinyoung said as he hugged his former teacher. Seongwoo wiped his tears away and thanked the young boy. He was always a bit emotional when it came to goodbyes.

Jinyoung held his father's hand as they walked back over to the entrance of the house. With one last kiss to the forehead, Minhyun bid his son goodbye. 

There were no tears in their eyes, because this wasn't a goodbye. It was a 'see you later'.

Jinyoung would see his father and all of his friends in Seoul again.

One day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the sequel is going to be up soon. very soon. 
> 
> too soon. heh.

**Author's Note:**

> please comment and tell me what you think!
> 
> thank you for reading : )
> 
> p.s. if you want, follow me on twitter! @nuestology : )


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